Breaking The Sire Bond
by RAWRxIMAxDINOSAUR
Summary: Damon finally breaks the sire bond and leaves town. Everybody is happy to see Elena back to her old self. Except she's not sure how she's supposed to feel now. On top of that Damon has switched his humanity off and has gone on a bender. Can anybody bring him back and can Elena finally decide how she really feels? Delena/Stelena.
1. The Bond Has Been Broken

A/N: I would first like to say that this was originally posted as a one shot in my other story 'A Series of One Shots'. After some thought and some lovely feedback I decided to turn this into a multi-chapter fic. This story will be much more angsty than my last (titled 'Damon and Elena' if you haven't read it, go find it and do so!) and also I decided to put Stefan down as a main character because he has a lot of interaction in this story. I am a Damon/Elena shipper, however this story at some point will probably contain Stelena action so be warned. On with the story!

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Damon peered down from the top of the stairs and watched as Elena danced carelessly to the beat of some dance song he had never heard. She had a blood bag in one hand as she spun around in circles with this big goofy smile on her face. A face that he so dearly loved. He watched her body move effortlessly in time to the song, swaying and moving her hips in ways that made Damon crazy. God, she was beautiful. Even more so now that she was a vampire even if he was the only one to think so. Her long brunette locks swished over her shoulders. Elena looked every bit as happy as he wanted her to be.

A hand pulled Damon out of his trance. His brother's palm settled on Damon's shoulder and Damon's whole exterior changed. Gone was the soft, delightful, loving man, replacing it with the usual Damon show, arrogant, selfish, cocky. Only this time he was also slightly annoyed. Because what his brother and that interfering blonde vampire were proposing was horrible. It was the worst possible thing he could do. It would destroy the very fragile ground he was currently walking on with Elena and it would tear him apart. But he would do it because it was the _right_ thing to do.

When did he start doing the right thing? He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure when Elena's well-being came before his own happiness. But it had happened and now instead of taking her and ravishing her no matter the consequences he was talking about something much different. The right thing was the same thing that would break him, the same thing that would see him leave Mystic Falls and Elena Gilbert behind. He knew that after it was all done he would be able to stay. He couldn't watch her go back to _him_.

He followed his brother back into his bedroom, Stefan closing the door behind them. The music downstairs was preventing Elena from being able to hear their current conversation which Damon was semi-glad for. They had talked about this before, Damon had argued with her many times about what he should be doing. She had always had the same answer, the same argument and for awhile she had convinced him that she was okay and that _they_ were okay but now he knew better and he knew that he couldn't let her in on what was going to happen before it happened.

Damon poured himself a glass of bourbon without offering one to either one of the other occupants of the room. They didn't deserve it, or at least that's what Damon though. Realistically he knew that Caroline was just looking out for Elena, even if most of her motivation was to keep her way from him. Stefan's reasons were much the same, motivated by keeping Elena away from him but also knowing that this was what had to be done. So right now, Damon didn't feel like being pleasant or offering them a drink because he couldn't fathom the idea of being remotely nice to either them. After all they were here for one reason and one reason only.

To help Damon break the sire bond.

"So you are clear on what needs to happen?" Stefan asked, watching his older brother pour another glass.

"Yes Stefan, for the millionth time." Damon replied angrily.

It wasn't enough for his brother to be helping him tear Elena from him, he had to go over it a million and one times. Damon wasn't sure whether it was because he didn't trust him or whether it was just to rub it in, but either way he wanted to rip his brother's head off. He waited for blondie to chime in, surely she had something to say. She was after all the one who alerted Stefan to the sire bond. He should have ripped her head off the moment he found out it was her. If it wasn't for her meddling Damon could have been in bed with Elena right now instead of trying to numb himself so he wouldn't feel his heart break when the time came.

"I'm just making sure you're going to do it. That's why we are here Damon." Stefan told his brother.

"I'm going to do it!" Damon yelled, feeling the anger boil inside him. "I said I would and I will."

Caroline snorted. She had heard it before. Damon had said he'd do it once before and he didn't. Elena was still convinced she loved him, still convinced he was _the one_. He had clearly lied about what he had said.

"Yeah, well you've said that before and look where we are." Caroline said.

In a blur of motion Damon had her pinned against a wall with his hand around her neck, her feet dangling inches above the ground. In a swift motion he could have pulled her neck up harsh enough and severed her spine and she would be dead. He could punch his fist through her chest and rip her heart out. She was wrong to be antagonising him in such a situation when there was now so little stopping him from killing her. Elena had been the only one to save her, the only one he wanted to listen to when he so often felt like murdering Caroline but now he had nothing to lose. Once the sire bond was broken he would be gone and Elena would run back to Stefan and it wouldn't matter if she hated him or not. He could kill her.

"Damon." Stefan warned.

"I will rip your head off in an instant if you so much as say another word." Damon snarled. "I don't even know why you are here. Why is she here?" Damon asked Stefan.

"Because she's Elena's friend and she wants to make sure she's okay once you've broken the sire bond." Stefan revealed.

Damon dropped her without another thought to her feeble life. Caroline was the last person he wanted here at the moment. Well maybe save for Bonnie. They didn't care how he felt, how much this was going to crush him. Who would console him? Who would make sure he was going to be okay? No one, that was who. The moment he walked away from Elena they would be by her side coddling her and telling her everything is okay and he would be left alone to repair his own heart, to fix himself. That was probably his own fault, he had made it almost impossible for anyone to truly care about him. Maybe the one person who might have cared, Alaric. Yeah, well he was dead.

"Let's just get this over with." Damon sighed.

All three of them went downstairs to find Elena still blaring her music and dancing carelessly. She had not a clue in the world what was about to happen and how her whole world was about to change. For that Damon was thankful. It would have only made it harder for him to do this had she been apart of the conversation. Elena would have begged him not to, she would have kissed him and cried for him to believe her that her feelings were real. The amount of times she had said it, Damon almost believed it. He almost believed that there would be a time where she would love him the way he loved her. Before he knew about the sire bond he had thought that it was real. He had been happy for a nano-second.

"Care, come dance!" Elena called out.

Caroline only smiled which set Elena off. Elena's body language changed and she knew something was up. Damon followed her movements as she switched off the music and walked towards the three of them. Her eyes were set in worry.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked.

Damon took her arm lovingly and took her over to the sofa in the parlour. He wanted a private moment, or as private as it could get. This was possibly going to be the last time he would ever look into those adoring chocolate eyes and touch her sun kissed skin. He wanted to remember her loving him, to remember that even if it wasn't true that there was a time where she looked at him like she had loved him. He brushed strands of hair away from her face and planted a soft, gentle kiss on her awaiting mouth. He could feel his brother's stature stiffen at the unexpected move. But he didn't quite care. If he was going to leave her then he would at least get to kiss her one last time. Hell, if he had, had it his way he would have made love to her one last time too.

Elena pulled back from the kiss and gave him a small smile like she knew something was up, like she knew he was about to drop a bomb on her. She ran her thumb over his perfect lips and stared deep down into his soul. She had been the only person after Katherine who could touch him so deep down inside himself. The only person to reach into the abyss of darkness that was his soul and pull out something good.

He took her face in his hands, a hand either side of her cheeks and smiled at her for just a moment before his smile faded and he looked at with a serious, intense look.

"Damon, what's going on?" She questioned.

"Elena I'm doing this for you." He started. "I want you to be happy and I want you to forget about us and what has happened between us. I want you to not worry about me and not think about me but most of all Elena I want you to do this for me. I want you to live your life without me and live it to it's fullest. This is what would make me happy Elena. It would make me _happy_ if you did this for me."

Elena shook her head, not wanting to listen. That is what had happened before. She had not listened. This time Damon was determined to make her listen, to make her hear him. He pulled her face so her eyes were meeting his, holding her with a slight force.

"Listen to me. I love you so much Elena Gilbert but this is what is going to make me happy. It would make me so happy if you would just listen to me and do what I ask. Please." He instructed, feeling the pangs of his heart break piercing his chest.

"No." Elena softly cried. "Please Damon, don't do this. I love you."

Damon sighed. "Elena it would make me happy if all of this could just be in the past. It would make me happy if you could move on from me and live your life. It would make me happy if you could do that without me and I know that you want to make me happy. So please, if you want to make me happy just do exactly that. Okay?"

Elena's complete focus was on Damon. Had his brother and Caroline not been in the room Damon probably wouldn't have gone through with it. Seeing the hurt in her eyes and feeling his own pain, it was enough to make him stop. But he couldn't because Stefan and Caroline were there to make sure he followed through and even though he hated it, he knew it was the right thing to do. He let her face go reluctantly and kissed her on the forehead, his lips lingering on her soft skin for a moment longer then he should have.

Elena started to sob uncontrollably and Caroline raced over to console her. Damon tried to block out her cries as he turned his back and walked away from her. His body reluctantly took steps towards Stefan, even though his soul was being pulled back towards her. He walked straight past his brother without another word, wanting nothing more then to get out of there before he took it all back. Stefan followed him to the front door and placed a hand on his forearm.

As fucked up as this whole situation was Stefan was thankful that for once in Damon's life he was doing the right thing.

"Don't." Damon said.

"Thank you Damon. I know that was hard and I just…you're doing the right thing." Stefan replied.

Damon shrugged his brother off and ran in a blur to his car. The rain was pouring from the sky. Damon sat in his seat for a few moments before a flood of emotion hit him and suddenly he could feel tears seeping from his eyes and the pain in his chest intensifying and it was the first time in a very, very long time that Damon had wished to die.

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A/N: Like I said up above this story will be much more angsty then my last. It will mainly focus on how the sire bond affected Damon and Elena (and everyone around them) and how it felt to be broken. But it will also focus on Damon and Elena's relationship (and whether or not it was real before the sire bond was broken). Hope you enjoyed the first chapter (if you haven't already read it before this) and please click through the read the second chapter.

As always, review, follow and favourite.


	2. I Just Want To Die

Damon sped off into the distance. For the life of him he couldn't get himself to calm down or to stop crying. He was a over a century and a half old and he was sobbing like a little girl. He slammed his fist down on the steering wheel causing his Camaro to sway dangerously on the slippery road. All he could think about what the intense ache in his chest and how he was probably never going to see Elena again.

Life was so fucking unfair he thought to himself. He had loved Katherine once, he had wanted to devote his entire existence to her at one point in his human life. He had loved her and cherished her and for years he thought she was desiccating in a tomb only to find out she had lied this entire time and hadn't cared one bit to find him. _That_ had hurt. That moment he had realised Katherine wasn't inside that tomb and the bitch had never once tried to find him, that had sucked and he had been miserable for awhile but he got over it. This feeling to him was not all that unfamiliar. Except instead of angry he was just hurt and he was sure this time he wouldn't just be miserable for awhile. He was sure this time it was going to take longer.

Why did he even bother caring for anyone? Everyone in his life had let him down. His mother when she died, his father when he told Stefan he was the one who shot them, Stefan because he was the one who helped capture Katherine, Katherine because he had spent years loving her only to find out what a massive disappointing bitch she was and finally Elena. But the only reason she had let Damon down was because she didn't love him soon enough or maybe even at all. He had poured his entire soul into their one and only intimate moment only to find out a day later that she may not even love him. Elena had let him down.

There was not one person in his life that he could turn to. The only person he ever considered a friend besides Elena was Alaric who was dead. That was a great help. Damon managed to make every one else only see him as that arrogant, selfish jerk rather then the person he really was. It was a reflex for him really, he was protecting himself from inevitably being let down. Right now, when he needed someone the most he was all alone, sobbing to himself.

He pulled up outside Klaus' mansion and stalked all the way inside without a care for his sopping clothes due to the pouring rain or the fact that he was tramping mud all along Klaus' polished floors. Damon frantically looked around him before he began ripping things apart, tearing pictures from walls in a blind rage. He walked with purpose into the room Klaus kept all his artwork in and began making it nothing but a pile of rubbish. He tore up canvases and ripped apart paintings until he was met with great force that slammed him against an opposing wall, cracking the plaster work behind his back.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Klaus yelled, fury in his eyes.

"Kill me!" Damon yelled back. "Kill me."

Klaus' face changed in an instant from angry to amused. He had only known Damon a short while but he had not known him once to actually want to die. In fact most of the time it was the complete opposite, he was usually fighting to stay alive. Now here he was, coming into his house and ripping it apart asking to die? Klaus could only smirk.

"Damon Salvatore wants to die? Well if that's what you intended when you started this…mess you _almost_ got what you came for." He said amused.

He let got of Damon's shoulders and turned away. He took several steps away from Damon, picking up remnants of his torn apart art. Klaus waited for Damon to make the next move. He had wanted to kill Damon so many times in the past but had recently grown to like Damon sort of. He wasn't _that_ bad of company to keep, as long as he wasn't trying to kill him. Klaus was interested in why Damon had come here asking to die, not so long ago Klaus wouldn't even have blinked at the request. He would have pulled Damon's head off without so much as another breath and discarded him like a piece of trash. But he had come to know him and he wanted to know what had happened to make Damon want to die.

"Please." Damon whispered, feeling the fight leave him.

Damon's heart ache had sucked all the energy out of him. He no longer had the energy to be angry or the energy to care. He wanted to be done with it all so he came to the one place he knew he could end it. Klaus had tried to kill him numerous times before, so he had been the first person on Damon's list when the thought had come to him.

"Tell me why and I might consider it." Klaus said, rubbing the torn canvas between his finger and thumb.

Damon couldn't bring himself to say it. He couldn't form the words in his brain or his mouth, it hurt too much to even try to think about it. So he did the one thing he knew how too. He provoked Klaus. He rose to his feet and attacked Klaus with all the force he could muster. Damon grabbed hold of Klaus' head and tried to snap his neck, it was no use but that wasn't really the point. The point was to piss Klaus off another that he would _want_ to kill him. That was the point.

Klaus pushed Damon away fiercely, Damon's body flying across the room. But it didn't stop him. In a blur he was back on Klaus punching him and fighting him. He pinned Klaus to the ground and placed his fist to Klaus' chest and even though in an instant Damon could have ripped Klaus' heart out, he didn't because he knew if he had then Klaus wouldn't be able to kill him and after all that's why he was here. Klaus smirked up at Damon in a condescending way.

"Go on mate. Kill me." Klaus mocked.

But Damon knew he wouldn't. He reluctantly bowed down to Klaus and got off him, helping Klaus to his feet. His feeble attempt at getting Klaus angry only made him more amused.

"Just kill me." Damon pleaded once again.

"Tell me why you want to die first." Klaus replied.

Defiantly Damon crossed his arms. "I broke the sire bond okay! Elena…I left and I told her to move on which she's probably already doing with Stefan and I can't do this anymore. It hurts, it fucking hurts and I can't feel like this again. I want to die. Please for once Klaus do something nice and kill me." Damon spat, tears unexpectedly falling down his face.

He had dropped so far from the pedestal he had placed himself on years ago. He was now crying in front of another man, sobbing to him and asking him to to kill him all because he was heart broken. Damon knew it sounded pathetic but he honestly couldn't have cared less. He was done. Losing one woman to his brother was bad but losing a second, well Damon just couldn't deal with it and he certainly couldn't deal with how much he loved Elena knowing she didn't feel the same.

"Let me ask you something, Damon. Why don't you just turn it off? Just flick the switch and be done?" Klaus asked.

Damon had thought about it. Damon had thought about shutting it all out and living his life without his humanity. But he knew undoubtedly that one day when he switched it back on it would be there, the heart ache, the unbearable pain in his chest and he didn't want to feel it. Not now, not in ten days or ten years or 1000 years. He couldn't. He just couldn't. He had nothing left to live for anyway. Anyone he ever loved had left him, had chosen Stefan and frankly Damon was sick of it all. No one would miss him.

"Turn it off Damon." Klaus said.

"No." Damon sobbed.

"Flick the switch Salvatore. Turn it off and be done with it! You are better then this. Be the vampire you used to be. Before Elena!" Klaus yelled.

Damon slammed Klaus against the wall.

"Turn it off." Klaus instructed.

Damon reached down inside him and found that button and for a moment he was sure he wasn't going to do it, he was sure that he was going to run out of there and find another way to die. But then he changed his mind and he flicked his humanity switch and his entire world changed. He let go of Klaus, his eyes a dark, scary blue. There was no unbearable pain in his chest, no broken heart, no thoughts of how much he loved Elena. There was nothing but an insatiable thirst and a complete disregard for anyone but himself.

Klaus smiled mischievously and slowly but surely Damon's lips turned up into a callous smirk.

Elena who?

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A/N: The much anticipated second chapter! I was feeling generous and decided I wasn't going to post the first chapter and wait another week to post the second. I hope this will be at least half as well received as my last chapter was in my one shot collection. Please let me know your thoughts.

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	3. Is This How I'm Supposed To Feel?

Elena could feel it. She could feel the change that had happened within her. She had felt every fibre of her being shift when Damon had un-sired her. It was like she was viewing life through some sort of Damon filter and when he had told her to move on without him because that's what would make him happy the filter had been lifted and she saw her world, her world as a _vampire_ for the first time. But it didn't mean it had sucked any less. God did it hurt when Damon had broken the bond.

She had listened the whole time but hardly heard. All she could feel was this unbearable pain in her chest like her heart had actually been breaking, shattering into thousands of tiny pieces and piercing her insides. It had hurt a whole lot more then she had thought. Elena had cried and sobbed and pleaded with him to stop and to listen to her when she said she loved him and it was real. It was real. It was real from the time she became a vampire until the time he walked out after un-siring her and then she wasn't sure any of it had been real. Like she said, she could feel the change.

Suddenly she was seeing everything differently. She was seeing the world from a different point of view. Her judgement wasn't clouded by what would make Damon happy. Her undying thirst for blood was quickly quenched because she was able to drink the animal stuff (although barely because let's face it, it just wasn't as good as the human stuff) without violently bringing it back up in the most un-lady like of ways. It was the first time since becoming a vampire that Elena hadn't felt the need for validation for anything she was doing.

Caroline had hugged her and squealed and mumbled things about everything going back to the way it was supposed to be. Which Elena knew meant her getting back with Stefan. Did she want to get back with Stefan? She didn't know. She hadn't thought that far in the few minutes that she had become herself again. She supposed that was the way things were meant to be. This Damon thing was just her sire bond right? She loved him because that would be what would make him happy and she wanted to make him happy.

Was _she_ happy now that she was un-sired? Elena remembered every moment of being with Damon, every word she had uttered and the very, _very_ private moment they had shared that no one knew about but them. She remembered it all but she couldn't remember how it felt to be there. _Why_ had she slept with Damon? She couldn't remember the feelings that would have led her to make that choice. It was like one minute her entire world revolved around being with Damon and loving Damon and making Damon happy and then the next she was just Elena again.

"Elena we are _so_ glad you're back to yourself." Caroline squealed, pulling Elena into a tight hug.

Elena plastered a smile on her face and pretended she felt the same because honestly she didn't know how she really did feel. She was unsure of how she was supposed to feel other then free. Was she supposed to feel cheated and betrayed that Damon slept with her or guilty that she had done it? Was she supposed to feel sad or angry or hurt? She was not sure of any of it. After the initial hurt when Damon had un-sired her Elena had gone on to be confused about what she was _meant_ to be feeling.

"Yeah me too." Elena replied.

Stefan took a few careful steps towards her. His actions were stiff and guarded and Elena supposed she deserved that, after all she had practically broken up with Stefan to be with his brother even if she had been under the influence of a sire bond. Did that matter though?

"Okay, okay. I'm going to go and let you two…talk." Caroline giggled, winking at Stefan.

Elena knew exactly what she meant by that wink but Elena wasn't quite ready to make up with Stefan. She had to tell him about Damon right?

After Caroline left neither Stefan or Elena quite knew what to say to each other. So much had happened in the last couple of weeks between them that it was hard to find a comfortable place for them to talk in. Stefan had been obviously hurt and upset by her decision to work out her feelings for Damon and he had every right to feel that way. But at the time Elena had felt like nothing in the world was more important then being with Damon. Now she was kind of unsure why she had broken things off with Stefan to begin with.

"I know a lot has happened." Stefan began. "I know we broke up and there was Damon…a lot has happened. But I'm hoping now that you're thinking clearer we can work things out between us Elena."

Elena brushed a hand through her silken locks. Stefan looked so happy that she was herself again it was hard for Elena to muster up the courage to tell him the truth.

"Stefan, Damon and I…we slept together. Just once. But we did and I thought you should know before we have this conversation." Elena confessed.

Elena watched the flash of anger dance across his masculine face. She waited for Stefan to get angry and cuss and promise Damon's death but nothing came. He kept a calm demeanour and nodded slowly to Elena's confession.

"You were sired to him. It's something I can learn to live with if you are willing to give us another chance." Stefan said, taking her hand in his.

She felt the flutter down in her stomach, the familiar flutter that she _always_ got when Stefan touched her. It was a welcoming feeling but at the same time it provoked something inside her that was telling her this was weird.

"I don't know that I can right now." Elena replied.

Stefan took her face in his hands and planted a kiss on her lips. As always it was soft and warm and perfect, it made her feel exactly the way it was supposed to, _loved_. He pulled back from her face to look at her, his thumbs absentmindedly caressing her cheeks.

"I love you Elena Gilbert. I can forgive you and my brother and we can start over, start fresh. I can teach you to hunt animals and we can build a life for ourselves. That's what I want. But I understand if that's not what you want right now. I can understand that. I just want you to know that I love you and that's what _I_ want." Stefan whispered.

His sentiment made Elena's heart warm. He was so kind and beautiful that Elena couldn't help but feel like if she said no then she would be disappointing him and right now that was the last thing she wanted to do. Plus, he was practically the only normal thing in her life right now, the only thing about her life that felt normal anyway.

Through this entire thing with Damon she had been absolutely sure she loved him. She was ready to commit herself to him for all of eternity sure of her feelings and sure that they were real and not due to some silly sire bond. She had promised him they were real. But here, looking into Stefan's eyes after being freed from the sire bond Elena couldn't remember why she had felt like they were so real. She couldn't decipher whether she had feelings for Damon or not and even if she did were they worth throwing away Stefan for? Because they sure had felt like that when she was sired.

Maybe she needed time to think. That's what she thought. She really needed time to herself to assess what had happened and think about which brother she was in love with. But there was Stefan right in front of her declaring his eternal love and asking her to build a life with him. She couldn't say no to that, she couldn't say no to a semi-normal life.

"I want that too." She told him.

When Stefan kissed her this time it was passionate and wet which Elena didn't mind. But she felt her mind wandering to Damon and what had happened after he left.

Did he seem upset? She couldn't remember. She had been so caught up in her own tears and her own grief that she couldn't remember if he had been upset too. Elena wanted to know how he was, if he was okay but every part of her was telling her that she couldn't that she _had_ to move on without him. Every little voice in her head was telling her Damon was no longer apart of her life and that was how it was going to be from now.

So even though she wanted desperately to know if he was okay she couldn't because something inside of her was fighting her.

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A/N: I had a phenomenal response to the first two chapters. In fact I was so astonished at how many people reviewed, followed and favourited this story in the first two days it had been up that I was sure it was a mistake. I want to thank each and every one of you who took the the time to read my story and also anyone who took the extra time to review, follow or favourite this. Honestly, I wouldn't have the motivation to write if it weren't for your support.

On another note I just want to make something clear. Damon was not compelled to turn his humanity off. I guess I should have written that better. I think what I was trying to go for that there was just a point that Damon had, had enough. I just wanted to clear that up because I had a reviewer mention it in a review and I wasn't sure if maybe anyone else was thinking the same thing.

Anyway, hope this was as good as you expected.

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	4. Your Worst Nightmare

In the past two weeks Damon had fucked his way through most of the eligible (and then some not-_so_-eligible) women in several small towns not too far from Mystic Falls, leaving a trail of blood drained victims along his way. He had no care for getting rid of bodies or hiding his secret. None of it mattered anymore, not now that he had no humanity. Everything was much simpler this way. Drink. Fuck. Feed. Kill. That was his mantra.

Every night he'd go to a new bar and drink several glasses of bourbon all the while flirting with some pretty young girl until she had been coaxed into a bed with him (or sometimes just behind the bar or in his car…) and when he was done fucking her every which way to Sunday he drank her dry and snapped her neck. It didn't matter if they were sweet or kind or fun, none of it mattered. All that mattered was that his cock and his thirst were completely satisfied.

He knew of course that his actions were careless, that people were starting to ask questions that they would get no answer too. Towns in this area were pathetic. Most of the mayors of these small towns knew about vampires and when they found bodies drained of blood they knew what it meant but told their people otherwise. Damon could only laugh, it just made his task easier. The women of the towns would be worried sick about rabid animals and he would politely offer to walk them home to _protect_ them and when he got them home they would invite him in and then it was all over.

Damon could care less if people were starting to get suspicious or if he was putting his fellow vampires at risk. He didn't care about them or what happened to them. If things got too risky for himself he would leave. None of these towns was where he really wanted to be. They were small, pathetic lifeless places that he used for a quick fuck and to satisfy his hunger. Girls in small towns were easy to win over, they weren't use to big city charmers and their ways. Damon had always found it much harder to seduce a woman from New York then one from say Mystic Falls. New York women were used to guys like Damon.

Damon had just finished with his most recent victim (a red head with enormous breasts). He dropped her waist and listened to the dull thud of her now lifeless body against her bedroom floor. She had been pretty mediocre in bed but when Damon had sunk his teeth into her neck he knew he had made the right choice. She was _delicious_. He wiped his mouth on the end of the sheet hanging off the bed and examined his surroundings. God, he had made a mess. There was a point where he had lost his grip and she had ran to the other side of the room, blood pouring from her neck. Of course she was no match for Damon but sometimes it's fun for them to think they are. Her hands desperately clawed at walls as Damon ripped into her skin again, her hands making smudgy blood prints on her garishly decorated walls.

This no humanity thing was actually pretty fun. He was living for himself again and not for the benefit of protecting someone else. He wasn't spending his days worrying about a girl who couldn't have cared less for him and he certainly wasn't crying about losing her. In fact _she_ was entire waste of any thought now. Damon had actually forgotten how much life didn't suck when he didn't care for anyone or anything but himself.

He remembered how he felt after he broke the sire bond, he remembered feeling but he couldn't remember _what_ it felt like. It was just gone. His heart had been shattered a few weeks ago, broken beyond repair and he had actually _begged_ Klaus to kill him. Pathetic. That's the only word that came to Damon's mind now. He had been a pathetic weak man at that point. He was glad Klaus had convinced him to turn it off and leave it all behind. He was a better man and a better vampire for it.

Just as Damon was reminiscing the thought his cell rang in his pocket and he picked it up without glancing at the caller ID.

"Hello?" He chimed feeling quite happy with himself.

"Damon." Stefan said all brooding like.

Typical Damon thought. Typical Stefan, all serious and broody.

"Brother. What is that you want? I've done what you asked, what more could I do for you?" Damon replied, not an ounce of emotion in his voice.

"Sheriff Forbes alerted us to a recent out break in _animal attacks_. Bodies drained of blood. All women. Now it wasn't me, it wasn't Caroline or Tyler and in fact I even think Klaus is more careful about his choices then that, which only leaves you." Stefan stated.

"It was me." Damon responded, so matter-of-factly that he could actually hear Stefan's shock on the other side of the phone.

"Are you insane? Leaving strewn bodies all across towns in a close radius to Mystic Falls. You'll get us all caught Damon. Including yourself. What the hell is wrong with you?" Stefan accused.

Damon kicked over his victim so she was lying face up. He studied her face for a moment now pale and stiff.

"I don't really care." Damon replied, deciding it was time to leave.

Stefan scoffed on the other end of the phone. Damon almost laughed. Was it really that hard to believe that Damon had gone off the deep end? That he _really_ didn't care? Damon didn't think so. He had turned his humanity off for years before they returned back to Mystic Falls and before Elena. He had spent the better part of his vampire life not caring about anything and killing on a whim, leaving his victims behind. So it really shouldn't have surprised or shocked his brother that he was being so careless.

"Damon if you don't stop this ridiculous killing spree I'm going to-" Stefan said before Damon cut him off.

"What? You're going to what? Take a pathetic attempt at stopping me? You're weak Stefan. You are no match for me. I've been indulging for weeks now, feeding every night. I could tear your head off in a second. I wouldn't think twice about it. I wouldn't blink." Damon growled.

"I don't believe that. You may be a gigantic asshole Damon but you wouldn't do that." Stefan said.

"Wouldn't I? Why not Stefan? Because I _love_ you? I don't feel anything anymore, _brother_. Nothing. I've turned it all off. I've stopped feeling. Give my thanks to Klaus by the way, it was after all his idea. So don't threaten me Stefan because if you so much as make one wrong move I won't hesitate in killing you or anyone else who tries to fight me." Damon warned.

"You turned it off didn't you?" Stefan asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yes." Damon replied.

"Was it because of Elena?" Stefan questioned.

"Does it matter? The point is nothing matters anymore. I've realised that it's all pointless and it is all for nothing." Damon responded.

"Damon come home. We'll fix this." Stefan said, suddenly growing worried about his older brother.

Damon laughed. But his laugh was foreign. It wasn't playful or light or any of Damon's usual laughs. It was hard and cruel and slightly sadistic, a laugh Stefan had only heard when Damon had truly jumped off the deep end and dove into the abyss. This was a place Damon had been before, a place that had taken a lot to pull Damon out of.

"I don't need to be fixed. Goodbye baby brother." Damon said before hanging up.

He walked downstairs and his pricked at the sound of another human in the house. He smirked to himself and followed the sound into the kitchen. A girl probably 16 or 17 stood in the kitchen making herself a sandwich. She stopped at Damon's presence, a confused look on her face. Her grip tightened on the knife and Damon had to stop the sarcastic laugh from escaping. A knife wouldn't stop him.

"Who are you?" She asked cautiously.

Damon raced over to her in a blur. He was behind her in less then 3 seconds, her whole body wedged between Damon and the counter.

"You're worst nightmare." Damon whispered in her ear before taking her head in his hands and carelessly snapping her neck.

* * *

A/N: I am really sorry this chapter took as long as it did. My email was hacked last Sunday and I haven't been able to get back into it until today. I didn't want to update this until I was able to get back into my email as all my alerts get sent there (ie, reviews, follows and favourites). Luckily I was finally able to get it back and the first thing I wanted to do was update this.

I just want to say before I end this little A/N that I had a reviewer say something about the Stelena action in one of the previous chapters. This story is actually listed as Damon/Elena/Stefan because I truly believe that this story needs Stelena and Delena. The Sire bond isn't just about Damon and Elena in my eyes, it's also about Elena/Stefan and Stefan/Damon. So if you can't handle any Stelena action at all you should probably quit reading because I can promise you there will be some in future chapters.

Also another reviewer asked why Elena got back with Stefan after the bond was broken. I know this might seem unrealistic or something and I appreciate your input. But I think in my story I feel like after the bond is broken Elena is left confused about how she felt about anyone. She doesn't know what feelings are real and what feelings are not or how she's supposed to act. I guess when the bond was broken in my opinion Elena is unable to decipher how she's supposed to feel and this leaves her going back to Stefan because that's what was normal before she was turned.

Other than that I just wanted to say a big thank you for the amazing response I have had for this story. Everyone who reads/reviews/follows/favourites keeps me going.

Hope you enjoyed the update.

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	5. He's Gone Off The Deep End

Elena walked into the Mystic Grill looking for her friends. Stefan, Caroline and Tyler had proposed a double date, hoping things could get back to normal as soon as possible. The past couple of weeks had been as normal as Elena could hope. She was still getting used to this vampire thing now that she wasn't wearing her 'Damon' filter. Every choice she made was her own now and she didn't have worry that something someone might say would feel like an instruction instead of a suggestion. So, things had been okay. Her and Stefan were back together and it was like the sire bond had never happened. Like she had never slept with Damon.

She didn't really want to be here on a Saturday night, double dating with Caroline and Tyler but every time she so much as mentioned not wanting to do something that a human her would have liked to do her friends would look at her like she was crazy or there was something wrong and Elena really hated that. She spotted her friends the moment she walked in the door, they were at the table farthest from the door, all three of them already seated and chatting away. Elena started to smile to herself before her vampire hearing focused on their conversation.

"He's gone off the deep end." Stefan's voice.

"So he's like totally lost his humanity? It's gone?" Caroline asked.

"That's what he said. He said he turned it off. He sounded different when I spoke to him. He was cold and cruel." Stefan said.

"And he's not like that usually? Are you sure you're not over reacting? Damon is an ass, maybe he's just blowing off a little steam." Tyler jumped in.

"No. I know Damon. There's been reports of a new body found every day for the past 2 weeks in nearby towns, all _animal attacks_. Damon is an ass, I agree but one thing he is not is careless. He always takes care of his victims in one way or another. The last thing he wants is to get caught." Stefan replied.

"Do you know why he turned it off? Was it because of Elena?" Caroline asked.

"He said it didn't matter anymore but my only guess is Elena is the reason. He said he spoke to Klaus before he turned it off and that Klaus was the one to tell him to do it. Maybe if I talk to Klaus I'll get my answers." Stefan spoke.

"Yeah fat chance. Even if you _did_ get your answers what are you going to do? Bring Damon back to Mystic Falls and _fix_ him? Why? So he can go back to being an ass here. What if him coming back sires Elena again?" Caroline added.

"I know, Caroline. I've thought about all of this but he's my brother and he's not only endangering himself but all of us too. This doesn't look good for any of us." Stefan responded.

Elena caught Stefan's eyes and he looked momentarily worried that she had heard the conversation. Elena watched him tap his ears and glance at Caroline and Tyler, indicating them to her presence. Elena pretended like she hadn't heard any of it. She plastered a fake smile on her face and walked over to her friends.

"Hi guys. What were you talking about? Looked serious." Elena said, sliding into the booth beside Stefan.

"School dance." Caroline gleamed.

Elena of course knew that was a lie but played along anyway.

"Oh? What's the theme? You know how we love our themes." Elena replied.

"Haven't decided yet. That's what we were discussing. Should we order? I'm _starving_." Caroline said.

They all shared a knowing look. Food wasn't going to satisfy Caroline's hunger but really at this point they were just going through the motions. They all ordered and Elena sat back and listened to her friends talk. She had nothing to say. At the moment they were all lying to her for a reason Elena couldn't understand. Damon had broken the sire bond and left and in the process had told Elena to move on without him.

Isn't that what she had done? Hadn't she proved that by being here with Stefan? She didn't know how any of what her friends had said made her feel. Damon losing his humanity was a big deal to everyone. Not that he had been overly emotional beforehand but a vampire turning their humanity off was a big deal. It meant they no longer had to care about the people who cared about them. They did things for the simple reason of pleasing themselves and nobody else. You want to feed? Okay just nab a woman off the street and drain her and when she's dead toss her to the side and forget about her. You're feeling bored. Just kill someone it doesn't matter. You friends are trying to help you? Kill them too because they don't matter.

Even though Elena knew how big of a deal this was she couldn't decide how she felt about it. Was she upset? Was she worried or scared? She didn't know. This whole sire bond had left her confused about her feelings, especially where Damon was concerned.

When she was human she had fought hard to push her feelings for Damon down inside her. She wanted to do the right thing and be loyal and faithful to Stefan even if the brother she really wanted wasn't him. It wouldn't have been right to break up with Stefan to be with his brother and when she was human that was easy to do. But as soon as she turned a vampire every feeling she held for Damon was magnified and she could no longer live without him. Whether that was the sire bond or not, Elena wasn't sure. It was just now after going for so long just wanting to make Damon happy and being freed from that she had no idea how she should feel about Damon.

The worst part was she couldn't talk to any of her friends about this or Stefan. Most of them were too afraid to so much as mention his name in front of her, afraid it might trigger something inside of her and send her back to the sire bond. She couldn't bring it up with any of them because they would shut her down and tell her not to think about him and then they'd get all worried about her being sired still and it would be a disaster. The best thing to do was to keep it to herself.

Just as she was bringing herself out of her own thoughts Klaus walked up to their table with a smug smile on his face.

"Caroline." He said, bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing it.

Elena watched in mild fascination as Caroline froze before ripping her hand from Klaus' grip and throwing her arms around Tyler. It didn't seem to bother Klaus. Elena was pretty sure that was because he could kill Tyler in an instant.

"Elena my dear." He cooed, looking at her in the most peculiar of ways. "I have to thank you for sending a manic Damon Salvatore to my house a few weeks ago. Thanks to his little _episode_ I had to replace several priceless paintings."

Everyone around the table stared at Klaus in disbelief. Except Elena who was looking more then a little confused.

"Oh you didn't know…?" Klaus smiled, but Elena knew he had planned this all long. "Poor Damon. He came to me sobbing about his heart being broken and how he couldn't live with it a minute longer. Begged me to kill him." He smirked.

Stefan looked angry like he was ready to take Klaus on.

"Don't worry, I didn't. Although I should have. I had to stop myself from ripping his head off when he made a feeble attempt at ripping my heart out. I don't _think_ it was my heart he really want to rip out though." Klaus pondered.

"What did you do to him?" Stefan asked, gritting his teeth.

"I told him to turn his humanity off." Klaus shrugged.

"Why would you do that?" Caroline screeched.

"Because sweetheart Damon came to me asking to die because sweet, innocent Elena had shattered his heart. As fun as it would have been to murder him, this is much more entertaining I think." Klaus replied, staring Caroline directly in the eyes.

"He's gone on a killing spree you know that right?" Tyler asked, feeling more then slightly annoyed Klaus was hitting on his girlfriend right in front of him.

"I know. Had I known he was going to do that so close to home I probably would have killed him instead. He's causing quite the predicament for us don't you think Stefan?" Klaus asked.

"Yes." Stefan replied.

"I agree. Now, we can't have this happening much longer can we? You find him and make him see reason or I _will_ find him and I _will_ kill him." Klaus warned.

Elena felt a sharp pain. Was that because of Damon?

"Klaus." Elena said, grabbing Klaus' arms as he began to leave. "Did he really want to die when he came to you?"

Klaus placed his thumb underneath her chin and turned her head up to meet his eyes.

"Sweetheart if I told you the answer to that you wouldn't be able to live with yourself."

Klaus gave her a sad smile and walked away. Elena stood there, her heart pounding harder then it had in a long time. Damon wanted to die because of her? Because of the sire bond? Damon left because he knew once the sire bond was broken Elena would go back to Stefan because that's what was supposed to happen. She was supposed to love Stefan and the sire bond had just gotten in the way of that.

Had it? For the first time since the breaking of the sire bond Elena felt like maybe she really had loved Damon.

* * *

A/N: Update! Woo. I'd like to say another giant thank you to every single person who reviewed recently. You are all amazing and keep me motivated to not only continue to write this and finish this but to make it as good as I possibly can. Hope you enjoyed this.

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	6. You Think I Care?

Damon observed the patrons of the bar around him. Another bar, another night, another victim. He mentally sifted through every single woman in the bar to find his perfect candidate. Tonight he felt like…an easy catch. Yes. Some nights he was bored and he liked a challenge, so he would go for women who played hard to get. But tonight he was restless and hungry and really just needed to feed. He surveyed the room with expertise until he found what he was looking for.

Across the room at a table all by herself was a woman probably in her early twenties. Short, sassy blonde hair, bright blue eyes and a body that Damon couldn't wait to get his hands on. She sat at a table stirring her drink nervously. Was she waiting for someone Damon wondered. Her eyes flickered around the room for a few moments before they eventually rested back on her drink. She wasn't waiting for someone. She seemed reserved and quiet.

Damon stood from his seat at the bar and smoothed his hands over his black shirt. He was easily the most attractive man in the bar, he knew it and every woman in the bar knew it. He could feel their eyes penetrate him as he walked slowly but confidently across the room to meet the blonde. When he reached her table he placed a fresh drink in front of her and smiled down at her with his most knee weakening smile.

"Hello." Damon spoke.

The woman took her eyes away from her drink long enough to look up at Damon and by the way she looked at him, she looked impressed.

"Hi." She beamed.

"May I sit with you?" He asked.

"Please." She offered, gesturing to the seat across from her.

Damon took the seat across the table from her and placed his own drink on the table in front of him. He knew at this point that every other woman in the room was jealous that he had chosen this woman before him.

"I'm Damon." He said, extending his hand.

"Vanessa." She replied, placing her hand in Damon's and shaking it lightly.

"What's a beautiful girl like you doing sitting here all alone? I was surprised to see not one man come up to offer you a drink." Damon said, offering his words carefully.

Vanessa's cheeks blushed bright red as her head bowed down to try and hide the fact.

"I'm sorry am I coming on too strong?" Damon apologised.

He watched her eyes slowly lift to look back up at him and it was then he knew he had her.

"No, no. Not at all. I just don't get a lot of guys around here calling me beautiful." She replied.

"Well, their loss." Damon smiled.

He sat back and listened to her talk about how she was a nurse, how she had a baby at 16 and worked really hard to accomplish something with her life. Damon kept his eyes focused on her as his ears drifted off to listen to anything that was slightly more interesting then this woman's life. She went on and on about her little girl who was of course the most _precious_ thing on Earth who was smart and funny and gorgeous and Damon nodded along like he actually cared about her stupid kid.

After what seemed like hours of this woman dribbling on about things Damon had no interest she finally got to the part Damon had waited for.

"I know this is a little weird and you can say no but would you like to come back to my place with me?" She asked, her cheeks colouring red again.

"Sure. Okay. My car is out the front." Damon replied.

Damon put on his best gentleman facade and lead her out of the bar and into his car. He pretended to listen once again when she talked about her job as he mindlessly asked her for directions to her house. He pulled up outside a tiny little place closer to the edge of town and turned his car off. He followed Vanessa to the front door which she promptly opened. A slightly younger woman greeted them at the door.

"Thanks so much for baby sitting." Vanessa said, walking inside the house.

"It's nothing. You know I love baby sitting Lily. I put her to bed about an hour ago so she should be down for the night." The younger girl replied.

Damon smiled politely at the younger girl as Vanessa handed her some money. The younger girl seemed more then a little interested in him and Damon almost considered blowing off Vanessa for the teenager. They were notoriously funner to be around but people usually noticed when they were missing.

"Bye, have a good night." The younger girl waved as she started walking down the street.

Vanessa waved after her. "Come in, come in." She said, gesturing for Damon to follow.

He smirked at her carelessness but it went unnoticed. He followed her into the kitchen where he watched her turn on the coffee maker and pull out two mugs.

"Coffee?" She asked, her back to Damon.

Damon moved his body to trap her between the counter and his body, her back against his chest. He listened to her gasp at the sudden feeling of his body against hers. Damon encircled her waist with his strong arms, caressing the skin that peeked out from her top. Her hands gripped the counter so hard her knuckles were turning white. Damon had a feeling she didn't do this often. He smirked at the thought and then roughly spun her around and captured her mouth in his.

His lips parted hers expertly, his tongue seeking entrance inside her mouth. Vanessa willingly opened her mouth to deepen the kiss as Damon lifted her to place her on the counter. He parted her legs with his body, his crotch now flush against hers. Her trembling hands ran through Damon's mass of black hair while Damon nipped at her neck playfully. She enjoyed the occasional graze of his teeth but Damon suspected she wouldn't enjoy it later. He revelled in the feeling of her pulsating jugular vein against his tongue, imaging the part where he rips into it and the blood runs down her neck.

The thought of blood quickly turned him on.

"Wait. Wait." Vanessa said between kisses. Her breath ragged and unsure. "I can't do this. My daughter is asleep upstairs. If she comes down…she's seven and she'll be scarred for life."

Damon rolled his eyes over her shoulder so she wouldn't see.

"I'll keep a look out. Don't worry." Damon soothed, his hands tracing the lines of her bare back.

For a moment Vanessa seemed okay with what Damon had suggested. Damon continued to work his magic with his hands, unclasping her bra with ease. Her breasts poured out of her undone bra, spilling into Damon's free hand. She moaned at his rough touches and gasped with each kiss Damon placed expertly on her skin.

"Damon…" She pleaded.

Damon could feel his dick rubbing anxiously against his pants. He was now so hard it was starting to become painful.

"I-I can't." Vanessa sighed, pushing Damon away for the final time.

Damon stared at her in disbelief. Her breasts sat perkily in front of him just waiting for his attention. Vanessa quickly grabbed her top and threw it over her torso. Damon watched her grow increasingly embarrassed as each second passed while he just stood there finding no reason not to kill her right then and there. He waited for her to jump off the edge of the counter before he wrapped his hand around her neck.

Vanessa's eyes went wide as she choked out a strangled cry for Damon to stop. She beat her fists against his chest but really it was all just for show. Damon watched her face turn red from lack of oxygen and when she had finally given up he let her go and slammed her against the closest wall. Her eyes were wide with fear.

"Please." She cried. "I have a daughter."

Damon cocked an eyebrow. "You think I care?"

Without another thought he ripped into her neck. Vanessa let out a shrill scream of pain as Damon's teeth pierced her skin, her blood now trickling down her neck and spilling into Damon's mouth. He ravished every bit of her blood, revelling in the warm smooth feeling of the liquid running down his throat. She fought against him for a few moments before her movements became weaker, her body now growing lifeless. Damon had drained every last drop from her body. He licked his lips in satisfaction and let her body slide down the wall and fall to the floor.

He turned around to find something to wipe his mouth with when he noticed a little girl in the doorway staring at Damon with wide, frightened eyes.

"Mama?" She said, looking between Damon and her now dead mother.

Damon's lips slowly turned up into an evil smile as he walked slowly towards the frightened little girl.

"You must be Lily." He said, bending down to meet her eye to eye.

"Is my mama okay?" She asked innocently.

Damon placed his hands softly on either side of the little girl's head.

"Don't worry. You'll see her again." Damon's monotoned voice whispered into the air.

He quickly snapped her neck, her body falling with a thud. Well this was a pathetic waste of his time. He should have gone for the challenge. Those girls pretended that they were hard to get but really they just wanted somebody to work for it. They in actual fact were some of the sluttiest type of women Damon could come across. He surveyed the room, Vanessa lying lifeless her head in an awkward angle pressed against the wall while her daughter's body was in a pile in the doorway, her neck twisted in the most uncomfortable of ways.

Damon picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, throwing the rubbish on the counter. His cell phone rang, he quickly checked the caller I.D and smirked to himself.

"Brother. What do you want now?" Damon answered.

"Klaus is threatening to kill you if you don't stop leaving your victims out in the open for everyone to see." Stefan said, getting straight to the point.

"And perfect baby brother called me up to warn me to skip town?" Damon laughed.

"No Damon, I called to ask you to come home. I can help you find your humanity again. We can get through this together. I know you've done a lot of bad things lately but it doesn't matter. Just come home and we'll fix it." Stefan sighed.

"Want to know what I did tonight Steffy?" Damon asked, a hint of sadist in his voice. "I went back to a woman's house with her tonight expecting to get laid, but she turned me down so I killed her."

"I don't care Damon. I'll still help you." Stefan replied.

"You haven't heard the best part. After I drained her, her daughter found me. You want to know how I dealt with that? _I snapped her neck_. I didn't hesitate. I would do it again. I killed a seven year old kid tonight Stefan and I don't care that I did. You still think you can bring me back from the edge? Think again. Tell Klaus I'm ready for him." Damon spat.

On the other end of the phone Stefan was silent. Damon assumed it was his shocking news. Once upon a time Stefan had been the ripper and he had killed a lot of people but never a child. Children were innocent and sweet and mostly just off limits. Damon had no limits anymore. Nothing and no one was off limits. The kid was collateral damage. It's not like he would go out seeking to kill a little girl but she was there and she seen it all and he killed her mother. She was better off dead then in foster care. He did her a favour really.

"I know you're better then this." Stefan spoke.

"Am I?" Damon asked, more of a rhetorical question than anything else.

"Yes, you are Damon." Stefan replied.

"Goodbye Stefan." Damon said, hanging up.

* * *

A/N: Another update? Whaaaaaaaaat? Aren't I lovely. So I've been doing some plotting and planning and realised this story is going to be longer than my last ('Damon and Elena') and by longer I mean 10 or so chapters more at least. With that being said I feel like it means I can upload more. Twice, maybe three times a week if I'm really feeling it. How is this possible you ask? Well, as with many of my stories I seem to write a chapter and can't stop. So I write and write and basically have a day or two of continuously writing chapters. The advantage of this is that I have lots of time to go over said chapter, proof read and change things if I feel like it doesn't mix. Another advantage is that while you're reading chapter six, I'm writing chapter thirteen. It doesn't always mean my story is set in stone. Sometimes I have a major freak out and change a whole heap and have to back track but most of the time I'm pretty happy with my routine. Anyway, so because I write ahead I can post chapters regularly because I'm not all 'I'll try to update next week but I don't know if I'll have time to write'. I don't have a job so my life is pretty boring.

Anyway. That was a REALLY long author's note and probably mostly irrelevant. Hope you enjoyed the update and thank you so much for all your reviews.

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	7. Help Has Arrived

Many, many years ago Damon had lost his humanity for the first time since becoming a vampire and Stefan had watched it all. Stefan had watched the moment his older brother flicked the switch and become a different person. He heard the stories of bodies all across the country being drained of blood and left. It was careless and so unlike Damon's usual careful self that at first Stefan had not believed it was Damon. He had numerous sources telling him that it was his brother, confirming his appearance. But for the longest of times Stefan denied it because he just couldn't believe that his brother would be so careless.

Of course at the time Stefan was a recovering blood-aholic if you will. He was trying to stay away from all things human blood related, consuming a completely human free diet. Rabbits, deer, squirrels. That was his thing. So when he tracked his brother down one night and watched him rip into a woman's neck with unattainable force and drink from her until she was lifeless he was almost ready to join him. He smelt the warm liquid and could almost feel it running down his throat. It had taken all his will power and force to not burst into that room and lick up every last drop of spilled blood.

Damon however did not care. Damon was leaving bodies on streets, populated places, restaurants. It was the worst situation for any vampire. Damon was blowing their cover but that was definitely the last thing on Stefan's mind. Stefan watched his brother spiral out of control. He watched for months as Damon continued killing people out of sheer boredom. Until one day he decided to do something about it.

He had a buddy help him out to kidnap Damon (Stefan not being strong enough by himself) and tie him up in a dark cellar with ropes soaked in vervain. Stefan starved him to the point of insanity, willing him to turn it back on. Willing him to face whatever had made him turn it off in the first place so he could go back to being his usual self. It took weeks for Stefan to get through to his brother, it took him weeks to find out the reason behind Damon's loss of humanity (naturally it was Katherine) but eventually after painstakingly pleading with Damon everyday to turn it back on Damon did. Stefan had his brother back.

Flash back to present day, Stefan felt this time was different. Last time Damon had been careless and reckless but this time he was not only careless and reckless but stupid as well. He had been staying in the same areas, the same towns going on random killing sprees. Towns that had histories of vampires and secret councils that dealt with the issue. Damon was stupid and that worried Stefan. He had only just managed to bring Damon back last time but this time he wasn't so sure he would be able to.

Damon had every reason to not want to feel, Stefan could understand that. His heart was broken, Elena had broken it (unwillingly, the sire bond had been the one to break it really) and Stefan knew how that felt. Hell, it had almost made Stefan turn off his own humanity. The only thing that kept him from doing it was the fact he knew he would turn into the ripper and he didn't want to kill anyone. Damon didn't care about that stuff though. Damon killed people all the time, humanity or no humanity.

As much as Stefan thought he wouldn't be able to bring him back this time, he at least had to try. It was either that or let Klaus kill him and even though Stefan and Damon disagreed on just about everything in life he was after all his brother. Deep down he loved and cared about Damon. He couldn't just let him die.

Stefan walked out of a bathroom and looked down to the floor where Damon was lying unconscious. The woman standing over him handed Stefan the empty vervain dart and left in a hurry. Stefan hated that he had to drug his brother to get him to listen but it was the only option. He dragged Damon's body outside in the rain and put him in the backseat of Caroline's car. Caroline hurriedly started the car and started her drive back to Mystic Falls.

"He's out right? He's not going to like wake up and kill us for vervaining him?" Caroline asked, checking back to make sure Damon was still out.

"Yeah. He's out. But he won't be for long so hurry. I'll vervain him again if I have to but I'm hoping we'll make it back to the boarding house before I have to do that." Stefan replied.

"So what are you going to do? Tell him how much you love him and hope he turns back?" Caroline questioned.

Stefan momentarily thought back to the first time he had to help Damon get his humanity back. He shook his head and sighed.

"I'm going to tie him up in the cellar and starve him until he sees sense. I'll keep vervaining him to keep him weak. It took me a weeks the last time this happened." Stefan admitted.

"Weeks!?" Caroline screeched.

"Eyes on the road Caroline." Stefan said through gritted teeth.

"Sorry. Weeks? Really?" Caroline repeated.

"Yes." Stefan replied. "I don't want Elena knowing about this either. She's to stay away from the boarding house until this is over." Stefan instructed.

"Are you afraid she's still sired to him?" Caroline asked, glancing over to Stefan.

"I'm afraid that once he sees her again he won't ever want to turn his humanity back on, after all she _is_ the reason he turned it off." Stefan mused.

Caroline nodded in response.

The car pulled up outside the boarding house and Stefan pulled Damon out of the car and threw him over his shoulder. Caroline quickly followed Stefan as they raced down to the cellar. Stefan made quick work of tying Damon to a chair with ropes soaked in vervain, on top of the plants that were also growing in the cellar. It made all three of them slightly weaker just being around the plants but Damon being full of vervain and tied to a chair with ropes soaked in vervain, it definitely made him the weaker of the three.

"You should go." Stefan said to Caroline after Damon was properly tied up.

"Are you sure? I can stay if you want." Caroline said.

"No. I don't want…if he gets out I don't want him to know you helped just in case. He might hurt you." Stefan told her.

"What about you?" Caroline asked.

"Please Caroline. Go." Stefan warned.

Finally Caroline agreed and left in a hurry. Stefan pulled up a chair in front of his brother and studied him. If it was possible Damon looked like a completely different person. Stefan no longer saw his arrogant, egotistical brother who had _some_ redeeming qualities. All he saw was a man who murdered an innocent child, a man who had been killing people for weeks on end now with no mercy. His brother was gone but he'd be damned if he didn't try to get him back.

It took awhile but eventually Damon started to stir. He groaned at the burning sensation on his arms and legs from the ropes soaked in vervain. Slowly he opened his eyes which were no longer a prominent blue, but were really dark, almost black. Stefan waited for Damon to realise what had happened and where he was. Damon at first struggled against his restraints, not quite realising what was going on but after a few seconds he stopped and looked at Stefan with a vicious look in his eyes.

"I'm going to kill you and I'm going to enjoy it." Damon growled.

"Hello to you too, brother." Stefan replied.

"Let me go and I'll consider not ripping your heart out." Damon said.

"No." Stefan stated.

"Stefan I swear to God!" Damon yelled.

"What Damon? What are you going to do? You are tied up with ropes soaked in vervain. You are in a room _full_ of vervain plants which make you weaker with every second you are inhaling their scent. At any time I can inject you with a vervain dart to weaken you further. You get my point? You're not going anywhere. You are here because I am going to help you just like I did the last time remember? I helped you get your humanity back after you turned it off because of Katherine and I'm going to help you again this time." Stefan told him.

"I don't want it back!" Damon spat.

"Yes you do. I know you Damon and I know this isn't you. This careless person, it's not who you are." Stefan replied.

"I think you are mistaking me for you. I don't care. I never have. I _am_ this person." Damon told him.

"You do care. You know how I know that? Because you care enough to love someone even though they may not have loved you back. You care Damon and even if it hurts you should care." Stefan said.

"You're making a big fucking mistake. I _will_ get out of here and I will not only kill you, but to prove a point I'll kill Elena too. I don't care about her." Damon warned.

Stefan gave his brother a friendly smile and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll see about that. Goodnight, Damon."

Stefan turned around and walked out of the cellar, closing and locking the heavy wooden door behind him. He could only hope that he would be able to bring his brother back from this.

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for the kind reviews. I've been enjoying writing this so much and your reviews just reassure me that I'm doing an okay job. Hope this was up to my usual standards.

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	8. Still So Confused

_I don't know how to feel. I'm still so confused. It's been weeks since the sire bond was broken and although I feel free I'm unsure about everything else. Do I love Stefan? Do I love Damon? Was any of it real? Did I sleep with Damon because of the sire bond or because I wanted to? I just want to know. I want to be able to figure out my own thoughts. But I can't tell anyone, I can't vent to anyone. Everyone is so worried that Damon will come back and I'll still be sired that no one has bothered to ask how I feel. Not one time has somebody asked me if any of it was real or how I'm feeling. Not that they care. I think if I told them how confused I was about my feelings they'd think I was still sired. That's all they think. Every thought I have that isn't like the thoughts I had as human Elena is an indication to them that I'm still not myself. But I feel more myself now then I have been. As a human I didn't dare question my feelings for Stefan and I didn't dare explore my feelings for Damon. But as a vampire maybe that has changed. It's possible right? I need to figure this all out but I feel like the only way I'm going to figure it out is if I can see Damon. But every part of me is still screaming that I can't, that I should move on. Every time I even think about finding him my body reacts in a strange way and all of a sudden I feel like I'm being pulled in the other direction and that I shouldn't find him. Even if I did manage to find him I'm sure Caroline and Stefan would be convinced I'm still sired. _

Elena sighed. It had been a long time since she had written her innermost thoughts down in her journal. It had been a long time since she had needed to. After her parents died she had felt like she had no one to talk to, no one would understand her. She had been right. Caroline and Bonnie didn't understand her parents death and that was okay with Elena. She took solace in writing down her private thoughts. Then she had met Stefan and eventually there was no need for her to write her private thoughts down. Every thought she had she shared with Stefan. But now that she was back to having no one understand her she felt like her journal was the only option.

No one understood how she was feeling. Caroline and Stefan couldn't possibly imagine the internal struggle going on with her. How one part of her longed to find Damon so she could figure out if she loves him or not while the other part of her knew she couldn't for some reason. It felt like no one cared how she was feeling. As long as she was back with Stefan and acting like her human self then everything was fine. But if any part of her was acting strange or different everyone started to freak out. They didn't even try to understand. They shoved her in a box labelled _fix_ and were determined to do so.

She set her journal on her bed beside her and briefly wondered if Klaus had been telling the truth about Damon wanting to kill himself. It seemed so unlike the Damon she knew, the Damon who fought for his life. But then again she couldn't imagine how he must have felt after breaking the sire bond. No one had really told her how he looked or seemed after he had done it and for the life of Elena she couldn't remember. She tried to picture that day but all she could picture was herself sobbing into Caroline's arms. Did Damon cry? Was he angry, upset, relieved? She could only assume that he had felt at least half as hurt as she had at the time. After all he told her he loved her and while she had said it back no one knew if it had at all been real. Elena wondered what that was like. To love someone and have them say it back only to find out it's all part of some sick sire bond.

Although now the sire bond was broken and she was 'free' Elena felt anything but truly free. She felt free to an extent like she finally had her own thoughts again. But then when it came to everything else she still felt trapped. Caroline and Stefan made her feel like the fragile human girl she no longer was. They were keeping things from her and lying to her face too afraid that one wrong word would bring her down. She cared a lot about Stefan, maybe she wasn't sure whether she still loved him but she did care a lot about him. But even so she was starting to feel trapped in their relationship. She knew that she had only stayed with Stefan because that was what felt like the right thing to do, like the _normal_ thing to do. That was who she was before the vampirism and the sire bond so it was only natural that, that was who she would be after the sire bond.

A knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts. Jeremy entered her room with that worried brother look on his face that Elena wished she could take away forever. Jeremy had really been the only one through all of this to not take sides. Caroline took Stefan's, never once apologising for her opinion. Bonnie was a little more reluctant to choose but of course she too picked Stefan. Jeremy however stood by Elena's side, he wanted what was best for her and although he desperately wanted that to be Stefan he understood that if it was Damon then that would be okay too. Damon wasn't _his _first choice, but that was the point. It wasn't anybody else's choice but her own. Not that anyone else seemed to care about her choices lately, after all it was _Stefan and Caroline's_ choice to have Damon break the sire bond. At the time Elena was more then happy to live being sired to Damon.

"Hey you've been up here all day. Just wanted to make sure you were okay." Jeremy said, standing awkwardly against the door frame.

"I'm fine." Elena replied robotically.

She was so used to telling everyone she was fine lately that the words had slipped out of her mouth without another thought. But this was Jeremy and even though she never wanted to burden Jeremy with any of her dramas he was just about the only person in her life right now who she could talk to. The one person who wouldn't judge her or come to some crazy conclusion that Damon was somehow siring her from possibly thousands of miles away.

"Actually. I'm sorry. I'm not fine. Not at all." Elena added.

"Why? What's wrong?" Jeremy asked.

Elena stopped to contemplate whether she was right in revealing how she was truly feeling at the moment. Was he keeping secrets from her too? Was he lying to her? Elena didn't think so but everything was so messed up right now that she couldn't be sure. But she really needed to get everything off her chest, so whether she was sure or not she was going to tell the truth.

"I'm so confused." Elena began. "I just don't know where I'm supposed to be, who I'm supposed to be with. I'm not sure what's normal, what's not normal. Stefan is great and I really care about him Jer but if I'm honest I'm not sure I love him. I needed things to be normal again and Stefan was normal for me when I was human so I thought that maybe if I got back together with him things would feel normal again but they don't."

"Are you saying you don't want to be with Stefan anymore?" Jeremy queried.

"I-I don't know. I mean ever since the bond was broken I haven't been able to remember why I wanted Damon so bad. What made me so crazy for him? I haven't been able to remember how I felt in the moment, you know? I know that I care about him and I know that I said I loved him but why did I say it? Because I'm not sure I do…I'm not sure I _don't_ either. I just don't know because I'm so confused about everything and nobody wants to listen." Elena responded.

"So you're confused because you're not sure whether you love Damon or Stefan?" Jeremy questioned, unsure of what Elena was getting at.

"No. I'm confused because I'm not sure how I'm _supposed_ to feel. Everything feels so different. I never got a chance to be a vampire before I was sired to Damon so I'm not sure whether what I'm feeling is me or not. Have I changed Jeremy? Do you think I'm different now that I'm a vampire?" Elena asked.

She watched her little brother's eyes changed. He had been the first person to admit that he hated the idea of her being a vampire. This was pretty much the worst thing that could have happened to her in Jeremy's opinion, Elena was sure of that. In fact she was sure Jeremy would have rather she die then be a vampire, but that hadn't been the case. He loved her, Elena knew that but this was not ideal.

"Yeah, I think you're different. I mean…you're still you. I don't know how to explain it. But I definitely think you changed when you became a vampire." Jeremy replied.

"Then how am I supposed to know how to feel? At least as a human I knew how my feelings were supposed to be. What was me and what was not. I knew when I was feeling something because it felt good at the time or because it was right. Now I just don't know." Elena sighed.

"Why don't you talk to Caroline about this? Maybe she can help you." Jeremy offered.

"I can't Jer. Caroline and Stefan both think that at the mention of Damon's name I'm going to somehow be sired again. Neither of them will so much as reference to my being sired or to Damon, let along have a heart to heart with me about it. Bonnie is clearly elated at Damon's absence. But me? I'm not sure how I feel. Am I upset or angry or hurt or happy? Do I care if he's alive. Yes. I care. Do I care because I love him? I don't know! Klaus said Damon asked to die when he un-sired me." Elena revealed.

"What? No. Damon wouldn't do that. He's _Damon_." Jeremy half-laughed.

"I asked him if he was telling the truth and he told me that if he answered that question then I wouldn't be able to live with myself. That can only mean one thing Jer. What if Damon killed himself already? What if he took off his daylight ring or something. I know that when I think about that I feel something. Worried? I-I don't know. But I feel something and it doesn't feel good." Elena said.

"Elena I'm sure Damon's fine and sure Stefan has dealt with whatever it is that Damon was doing by now." Jeremy assured his sister.

Jeremy's words were little comfort to Elena.

"Stefan is keeping something from me Jer. I heard him, Caroline and Tyler talking at the Grill. They are all keeping something from me." Elena whispered.

"They're just protecting you Elena." Jeremy comforted his sister.

"From what?" Elena asked, more of a rhetorical question then anything else.

At that point in Elena's conversation with her brother she knew there was nothing he could say or do to comfort her or reassure her. Telling Jeremy about her confusion after being un-sired had eased her mind and taken a lot off her shoulders but other then that she still felt the same. Confused and angry that her friends were hiding something from her. Jeremy kissed her forehead and told her goodnight and left her to her own thoughts. Elena looked out the window at the big moon in the sky and for a flicker of a second she swore she remembered what it felt like when she was with Damon.


	9. Bringing Damon Back

Damon's eyes started to flutter open. His whole body was drenched in sweat, his shirt soaked through. Every vein in his body was pulsing with a desperate thirst. It had been a week since he had fed, a week since his brother had kidnapped him and locked him up. Each time Damon tried to move in his chair the vervain soaked ropes reminded him that he was unable to escape. Wounds which would have otherwise healed by now still fresh and bleeding due to his lack of a meal and the vervain.

Each day had passed where he had grown weaker. The first day he had yelled and swore and fought tirelessly against the ropes to free himself. The second day he had cursed at Stefan and swore the moment he freed himself he was a dead man. The third day Damon pretended to be sorry, he pretended he cared and pretended he was no longer the murderous vampire he still was. The fourth day he begged his brother to let him go, pleaded with him for another chance. The fifth day Damon grew angrier then he had been previously, he thrashed against his restraints using up every last bit of energy he had left. The sixth day Damon gave Stefan the silent treatment. Lastly, the seventh day (today) Damon had nothing left. No energy. No anger. Nothing. He felt nothing.

Damon groaned as he felt the familiar burning of the vervain burning his skin. He could faintly hear footsteps and desperately pleaded with the God he didn't believe in that it was not Stefan. He couldn't take anymore. He hoped it would be someone more forgiving, someone who might let him go. Hell, even Klaus would have been a better option then his brother. But Damon was not that lucky and as the door to the cellar opened Damon's eyes briefly managed to focus on Stefan's face.

"Hello brother." Stefan greeted Damon, a joy in his tone that Damon despised.

He was only met with silence, Damon far too weak to join in any pleasantries Stefan might have.

"Are you ready to talk? Ready to stop pretending this is who you really are?" Stefan asked, pulling up a chair so he was face to face with Damon.

"Go. To. Hell." Damon mumbled.

"Let me help you." Stefan growled.

"I don't need your help." Damon spat.

Stefan stood up and pulled something out of his pocket. Damon for a moment swore he saw a wooden stake. He waited as Stefan walked around him and just as Stefan had walked behind him Damon felt a piercing pain through his back. Stefan had staked him, missing his heart by inches. Damon yelled out in an immense pain, feeling it more because he was starving and weak.

"Feel something." Stefan ordered.

"Screw you." Damon replied, wincing as Stefan pulled the stake out.

This time Damon opened his eyes and looked his brother in the eye as Stefan came around the front of Damon and pushed the stake into the top of his hand. Damon knew exactly what Stefan was doing, this was exactly how Lexi got Stefan to turn his humanity back on. Even if Damon was feeling a hatred towards his brother, it was an emotion and it was better than nothing. But Damon wasn't playing this game, he knew better.

"This won't work!" Damon hissed. "I'm not you."

Stefan pushed the stake into Damon's shoulder. Blood pouring from his wounds that were healing very, very slowly.

"All you have to do is turn it on Damon and I'll stop." Stefan said.

"Why? So you can tell Elena you're the good guy? She already knows that. Why are you doing this Stefan? Why do you care!?" Damon snarled.

Damon felt the twist of the wooden stake against his collar bone as Stefan dug it in deeper.

"Klaus was going to kill you if I didn't stop you. You were leaving tracks. I can't let you do that and I won't let Klaus kill you. Even if it's what you want." Stefan replied, removing the stake.

"It's not what I want anymore. I was pathetic in that moment. Weak and pathetic. I don't care anymore and I'm fine with that. Fuck Klaus and what he wants. I'll take him on if I have to." Damon spoke.

Damon looked up at his brother and remembered times when Stefan was the one who needed saving. Damon had never needed saving. He had always been able to bring himself back. But it wasn't a question on whether or not he could bring himself back this time, it was _if_ he wanted to do so. He knew that he didn't. He didn't want to turn his humanity back on and have to feel his heart break all over again. Damon didn't want to remember what it felt like to be so miserable that he actually wanted to die.

"I know you asked to die Damon. I know you did that because of Elena and I'm sorry it had to come to that. I am. But you did the right thing breaking the sire bond, even though it hurt you. I'm thankful you did that for her." Stefan sighed, sitting back down in his seat.

"Let me go. I'll leave town. I'll leave the country. Just let me go." Damon whispered.

"No. Even if feeling again is going to hurt, you need to do it." Stefan replied.

Something inside Damon turned on.

"No I don't!" He bellowed. "I wanted to die because the pain of my heart breaking over Elena was so bad I couldn't live anymore. I didn't _want_ to live without her!"

Stefan smiled. "Emotions. That's good."

But just as quickly as it had turned on Damon had turned it back off. The flicker of pain he had felt in that one moment where he had let himself feel again was enough for a life time. He couldn't imagine feeling that for the rest of his life. He was better of without his humanity. A life alone wasn't so bad when you didn't care. You don't care about anyone but yourself. You don't care whether some girl loves you or not and you don't care whether they live or not. It's just you. He was better off this way.

"I think that's enough for today. We'll revisit this tomorrow." Stefan announced.

Damon didn't reply. He watched his younger brother leave and close the door behind him. He listened as Stefan's footsteps got quieter and quieter as he retreated upstairs. He closed his eyes once again trying to block out the pain. But as silence fell in the cellar he started to hear voices coming from above him. Upstairs.

"Elena what are you doing here?" Stefan asked.

"I came to see you. We haven't spent any time together in almost a week. I missed you." Elena replied.

"I've been busy I'm sorry. Let's go to the Grill or something. Get out of here." Stefan said.

"I have a better idea. We could stay here. We could have some _alone_ time." Elena giggled.

As the words seeped into Damon's ears he felt the pang of jealousy and outrage and heart break fill him. He didn't know how to turn it off. It wouldn't go away. As much as he tried not to feel the way he did, he couldn't. Her innuendo about spending alone time with Stefan pierced his heart and once again Damon wanted nothing more then to die. He pleaded with himself to turn it off. It took him awhile but after a few minutes the pain stopped and Damon once again felt nothing, even though he knew the girl he was in love with was upstairs with his brother. He felt _nothing_.

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A/N: So I know this is really short and I apologise for that. Hopefully it was still good enough.

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	10. Does This Feel Right?

__A/N: If you don't read this and then get to the end and be all like 'What the hell? Why did you do that?' you're own fault. I am warning anyone about to read this that this chapter is heavy on the Stelena and by that I mean sex. So If you cannot stand to read it you can skip over it to the last half of the chapter.

* * *

_Alone time_. _What are you 12?_ Elena grimaced at her words. After a few days of trying to figure out her own thoughts Elena had decided the only way to figure out how she felt was to act on feelings she knew she used to have. When she had first been turned Elena had been incredibly horny. The sex with Stefan after she had been turned had been better then when she was a human. He was no longer afraid to hurt her, plus she was also able to take control. So she figured that even if she didn't really feel like being intimate with Stefan right now, she had to.

"Now?" Stefan asked, a small smirk on his face.

"Yeah. Why not?" Elena said, biting her lip softly.

Stefan seemed nervous or worried and for a split second Elena was sure it was because he was hiding something. His eyes seemed to wander around the room until they focused back on Elena. Before Elena could ask another question Stefan took her by the waist and raced her upstairs. As a human an act like that would have made Elena dizzy but as a vampire she was used to the blur of her surroundings at such speeds. As Stefan came to a stop Elena took in Stefan's messy bedroom. Books scattered the shelves and the tables. It was so different to Damon's room which was immaculately clean and crisp. Wait. Why was she thinking about that?

Elena shook her head and returned her attention on Stefan, her boyfriend. Elena took his face in her hands and began kissing him. At first it felt kind of strange, they hadn't had a lot of time to rekindle their relationship after the sire bond had been broken and now things between them were a little awkward. But Elena pushed on. She felt Stefan's hands start to pull her top up her body and broke their kiss long enough for Stefan to pull it over her head.

She let Stefan kiss her neck, relishing in the warmth of his lips on her otherwise cold skin. It was nice but that was about it. Nothing about his touches or kisses lighted a fire inside her. Nothing about the way Stefan breathed her name made her giddy. None the less she continued with her experiment. Elena let Stefan have all the control, unsure if she would be able to take control and continue her experiment. Stefan laid her on the bed and hovered above her. Elena ran a finger along his toned, bare chest. It had always been one of Elena favourite things about Stefan but now it just seemed ordinary.

"God I missed you." Stefan breathed into Elena's ear as he began pulling her jeans down her legs.

Elena knew that she should have said it back. But every fibre in her was telling her not to. Whether it was because she was unsure if she had missed him too or because it just didn't feel right. It didn't matter because Stefan was too caught up in her body to notice that she wasn't completely into what they were doing. His descent down her body made her skin tingle but not the way she remembered it used to. It was more of a primal reaction than an intimate one.

Eventually Stefan and Elena were both naked and although they had been this way many times before Elena didn't feel totally comfortable she found herself wishing they were doing it beneath the covers instead of on top of them. Stefan dove inside her with a few small thrusts and Elena found herself enjoying the feeling. She liked the way Stefan cradled her as he rocked against her, it was sweet and kind. Did she like that still?

"_Elena_." Stefan groaned.

Stefan's voice brought Elena back into the moment. It was then she realised that Stefan was enjoying this at least 3 times more then she was. The sex was good. It was gentle and warm and familiar. But was good what she was looking for? It kind of reminded her of the sex between her and Matt which had always been satisfactory but felt like she was having sex with a good friend and not a boyfriend. Is that what it was supposed to feel like? Elena wondered if maybe this is what happens when you're with someone for a long time. Don't all relationships go through this? She found herself not being able to concentrate on the act and her mind wandering to whether or not this was how it was supposed to be and if she could live with that for the rest of her life.

Not once did Stefan notice her lack of enthusiasm. He managed to thrust inside her and bring himself over the edge. Elena faked an orgasm, just after Stefan finished and looked up at him with a big fake grin on her face. Stefan looked completely satisfied and happy, while Elena felt just as confused as she had been before she had decided this is what she needed. Sex with Stefan was supposed to clarify things not make them worse.

Stefan rolled off of Elena and pulled the covers over them. His arm slung over Elena and he pulled her in close.

"I really missed doing that with you. I didn't want to pressure you into anything so soon after…you know. But I'm glad this happened." Stefan whispered, nuzzling her cheek.

"Yeah me too." Elena lied.

It took an hour or so but eventually Stefan was sound asleep. Elena listened to his soft snores for a good 10 minutes before she decided she would get up. As a human Elena wouldn't have been able to make it out of bed without waking Stefan but now that she was a vampire she was much more stealthy. Elena carefully and quietly slinked out of the sheets and creeped out of Stefan's room. It had only just occurred to her that she was only wearing Stefan's shirt now but she figured it didn't matter seeing as no one else was here anyway.

For a moment she pondered on whether or not she should just leave. Maybe it was best if she told Stefan she had to go and went home. She poured herself a glass of bourbon and downed it quickly. The burning taste never ceased to surprise her. Elena licked her lips and thought hell, why she was here she may as well get a feed in. The Salvatore boarding house had a seemingly endless supply of blood bags, even though Stefan didn't drink human blood. It was Damon's supply that Caroline and now Elena shared.

Elena opened the door that revealed a set of stairs leading down to the cellar. It was dark and much colder as she descended the stairs but her eyes quickly adjusted. She made her way towards the chest fridge that held the blood bags and opened the lid. Inside was numerous bags. Elena picked up one and tore off the little cap that sealed the blood inside. She quickly sucked the blood bag dry, not realising how thirsty she actually was. Once she was done she dropped the lid to the fridge and made her way towards the stairs but as she did she heard a funny noise. Something sounding like a groan emanated from the locked cellar where Stefan's uncle Zach used to keep the vervain.

"Hello?" Elena called, curious.

Another groan escaped. Elena turned around and made her way to the cellar door. As she peered in she almost didn't believe her eyes at the sight.

"Damon!?" She asked, so surprised by his appearance.

Without another thought Elena opened the door and raced to Damon's side. Just as she was beginning to untie the knots on the ropes she was met with a brute force pushing her against a wall.

"Don't!" Stefan growled.

"Stefan? What is going on? Why is Damon down here?" Elena asked, pushing Stefan away from her.

Damon seemed to regain some form of consciousness, a callous smirk on his face.

"You didn't tell her?" Damon asked.

"Didn't tell me what? What didn't you tell me Stefan?" Elena demanded.

Elena looked between the brothers. Stefan looked so unwilling to share any information that Elena turned her attention to Damon.

"I went off the edge!" Damon yelled sarcastically. "Killed a bunch of people. Even a kid. Klaus was threatening to kill me."

"I know that already." Elena replied.

"Stefan kidnapped me and locked me down here a week ago. Did he tell you _that_? Did he tell you he's been starving me and staking me for a week now!?" Damon growled, his voice growing angrier.

"Stefan I don't understand. Why wouldn't you tell me this?" Elena asked, turning her attention back to Stefan.

"I didn't want you to get involved. Damon…he's not himself right now." Stefan said.

"That's not why." Damon laughed. "He didn't tell you because he thinks you still love me!"

Elena's eyes went wide. Elena knew Stefan didn't want Damon back in town because he was afraid it would bring back the sire bond. But she didn't actually think Stefan thought she loved him. Or maybe she did, but she didn't think Stefan would keep that from her.

"Elena…" Stefan began.

"I heard you at the Grill. I knew Damon had turned his humanity off and I knew you were keeping it from me. I know you are afraid that I'll be sired again but you can't keep things from me." Elena said.

"I'm sorry. I just…I didn't want to lose you again. I just wanted to help Damon and get him out of town before you knew. He promised to leave after he broke the bond." Stefan replied.

"Well, now he needs our help. I'm going to help you bring him back Stefan. It's not because I'm sired to him or because I love him. It's because he deserves a chance." Elena told Stefan.

For a moment Elena expected Stefan to refuse her help.

"Okay." Stefan replied. "I'll let you help."

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A/N: I have to say that although as I've stated many times before I am a Delena shipper I do feel like Stelena is an important part of not only the show but any story that isn't AU/AH and so forth. I believe that showing Elena's relationship with Stefan and how it differs for her relationship with Damon is important. Anyways, I want to also say thankyouthankthankyou to everyone who's been reading this and reviewing. I cannot get over how many reviews this story has received so far.

Oh on another note have you watched the TVD season 4 finale!? Without spoiling anything like OMG. Best finale ever.


	11. Don't Let Him Get To You

"I want to try by myself." Elena said.

"No. No way. He's dangerous Elena. What if he breaks free? He'll kill you. I'm sure of it." Stefan replied. Slamming his fist down on the bar.

"Stefan please! You clearly aren't getting through to him. Maybe I can." Elena told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Ever since Elena found out Damon was locked up in the cellar at the boarding house she had been furiously trying to come up with a plan of her own to get him back. Stefan had been trying for two weeks but nothing had changed. Damon was volatile, completely a different person and Elena hated it. Honestly when she first told Stefan she wanted to help she had no idea the effect this would have on her. Watching Stefan torture his brother was torture for her also. Not that she knew why. Elena had put it down to that she was just too kind to do that to someone. But somewhere inside her she knew that wasn't it.

"No. I'm not risking it. I want to be in there with you. At least if he got free I could…" Stefan began before Elena interrupted him.

"You could what Stefan? What could you do that I couldn't? Damon hasn't fed in 3 weeks. He's weak. Even if he did manage to break through the ropes I would be able to stop him from hurting me in an instant. I'd snap his neck. I know how this works Stefan." Elena replied, growing frustrated each time Stefan shut her down.

She could see Stefan's brain working over time. Elena knew the last thing Stefan wanted was for her to be alone with Damon. Somehow she knew it wasn't because he thought Damon could hurt her. No Elena knew it was something else. But if Stefan's wasn't going to be honest with her than she wasn't going to voice her concerns either. She knew she probably could have let Stefan come in the room with her but a part of her didn't want him there. Elena thought if she could have a chance to be alone with him maybe she could bring him back. He loved her once, before he switched his humanity off and even though it was cruel to do so, maybe Elena could bring him back through that love.

Why did she care so much? Well, she cared because she always had. No matter what Damon had done to her she had always cared. Elena wanted to know that Damon was himself again, that he wasn't going to go off on a murderous rampage and never come home. She needed both her Salvatore men in her life, even if it was selfish. She hated that she had to choose between them, befriend one and love the other. It was horrible. Not because she wanted to have them both (she wasn't Katherine) but because she didn't want to lose either of them. The past had already shown she was going to lose one no matter her choice.

"Fine. You have three days Elena." Stefan sighed.

"Thank you." Elena said, kissing Stefan's cheek. "One more thing. Could you…maybe not be here when I go down there?"

Elena knew her question would pose Stefan to be suspicious. It wasn't like she was going to do anything to betray Stefan, but she also didn't want him knowing the things she would say to Damon to bring him back. Stefan would jump to conclusions, assume she was being honest and then he would fight like hell to get her out of there and away from Damon.

"Why?" Stefan asked.

Elena had already come up with her answer. "I don't want Damon thinking you're here. The slightest sound and he'll know. I think I have a better chance if he knows you're not here. You can go to my house or hang out with Caroline. Please Stefan. I know it's a lot to ask."

Stefan brought his hands to Elena's face. Elena revelled in the feeling of his large soft hands caressing her cheeks. He leant down and placed a kiss on her lips.

"Okay. I'll be back around 6. You have until then." Stefan told her.

Elena watched as Stefan left and waited to hear his car pull out and on to the road. She wanted to make damn sure he wasn't around. Elena gulped hard and poured herself a glass of bourbon. She needed a little liquid courage. This would be the first time in awhile that she'd be spending more then a couple of minutes alone with Damon. She was nervous. Nervous for how she might react, nervous on what he'll say to her, hell she was nervous on what she'd say to him. But maybe it would help her clarify some things. Maybe she'd stop being so confused.

She walked cautiously down into the cellar, she could clearly hear Damon's laboured breathing. He was desiccating, starving and she knew he'd say or do anything for some blood. Elena grabbed a blood bag from the chest freezer by the cellar and held it firmly in her hands. Stefan had been starving Damon because that was what he thought was best. But he had given Elena three days so she was throwing his rules out and doing this her way.

The door creaked as it opened and there before her sat Damon, tied firmly into a wooden chair the ropes soaked in vervain. Elena could see the wounds the ropes had made, wounds that wouldn't heal until the ropes were taken off. She felt sorry for him immediately but had to dismiss it the feeling quickly because she knew that was a rule she couldn't break. Freeing Damon was not an option. Even in his weakened state if Elena was to be caught off guard she was sure Damon would have no problem killing her.

"Hi Damon." Elena spoke.

Damon groaned at her voice. Elena waited for him to lift his head but he never did. His eyes were closed and his face was angled towards the floor.

"I bought you some blood." Elena said.

Damon slowly lifted his head to look at her. His eyes were still a dark, dangerous blue. Elena remembered his bright blue ones clearly and missed them terribly. Looking into Damon's eyes was like looking into a whole new person. She didn't know this person. She had heard stories but this Damon was foreign to her. Damon's lips were dry and flaky and his skin more pale then usual. He looked like the posted picture for a desiccating vampire.

Elena squeezed some blood into a plastic cup, just a few drops and brought it to Damon's lips. He quickly gulped the small amount of blood down. She waited a moment for him to get some life back into him. After a few minutes Damon lifted his head more so he could look at her properly.

"What do you want?" Damon spat.

"I want to talk." Elena replied. "If you answer my questions and do as I ask I'll give you more blood. Otherwise that will be the last drop of blood you see until Stefan has either killed you or you've completely desiccated."

The tone in Elena's voice was quite foreign to her. She had never had to be so firm and cold. Part of her just wanted to take Damon in her arms and hold him but she knew this time that wasn't the answer.

"I'm suddenly not hungry." Damon complained.

"Oh? Well then I guess I'll have to drink this all then." Elena placed the bag to her lips and began slowly suckling down the blood. The veins around her eyes started to appear. Damon watched on until he couldn't take it anymore. The smell of blood was filling his nostrils.

"Stop! Okay. I'll comply." Damon yelled.

Elena smiled. But it was only then she realised she had no idea at all what she was going to ask Damon. Or say. She had to think.

"Why did you turn your humanity off?" Elena asked, wanting to hear the words from his own mouth.

Damon let out a low hideous laugh. "Why do you think Elena?"

"Klaus said you came to him asking to be killed the day you broke the sire bond." Elena replied softly. Just the sheer thought of Damon going to Klaus to be killed hurt her.

"Why do you think that is?" Damon questioned.

"I'd like to think you were temporarily insane." Elena joked.

But Damon was having none of it. This cruel person Damon was didn't care if what he was going to say would hurt Elena. In fact the only thing he cared about was the blood bag in her hand.

"You'd be wrong then. I went to Klaus because of you. I turned my humanity off because of you. All this is because of _you_." Damon growled.

The word stung Elena. Even though she knew she was the reason for all of this, hearing it from Damon himself was like being stabbed with a wooden stake. She had wanted him to say something else. Maybe it was Stefan he drove him to the edge or maybe it was something else. Even though she knew it was her, she had wanted it to be something else.

"I answered your question." Damon said. "Where is my reward?"

Elena shakily poured another few drops into the cup and put it to Damon's lips. Once again he greedily drank it down.

"Do you really not feel anything? Nothing at all? I find it hard to believe that you simply have no regard for anyone but yourself." Elena asked.

"You've never turned your humanity off, you wouldn't understand." Damon replied.

"Then make me understand."

"I feel nothing. Completely empty. All I care about his the hunt and the kill. The warm taste of fresh blood trickling down my throat. The scream of a woman when she realises who I am." Damon said, reminiscing in the thought of all his recent kills.

"What about me?" Elena said.

Damon cocked an eyebrow. This cruel calculating smirk appeared on his face. "What about you Elena? Oh wait, because everything is always about you. The last couple of fucking years, my whole life has been about you. Saving you, keeping you safe, loving you. Loving a girl who never loved me back. I don't care about that anymore. I don't care about you. I am better off without you. My life is better. You mean _nothing_ to me anymore, Elena." Damon replied, enunciating the word nothing.

As the words registered in her brain Elena felt the trickle of a few tears roll down her cheeks. Every word had hurt her. But why? Why had they hurt so much? Elena couldn't look at Damon, she couldn't look at his face.

"Oh I'm sorry did I hurt you? Good. You hurt everyone around you Elena. Everyone. Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, Stefan. You are the worst thing to happen to every single one of them. Don't you realise that now? I'm glad I turned it off. You want to know why? Because now I don't have stand by and watch as you completely fuck up your entire life. I got out before it was too late."

Elena stood up and slapped Damon across his face. Even though she knew this wasn't the real him talking, Elena was hurt. Her slap was hard and loud and Damon's face felt it. He scowled at her and tried to break free from his restraints but it was useless. Elena grabbed the blood bag from her chair and made her way to the door. Today she had had enough. She had not been prepared for how truly horrible Damon would be to her. She couldn't sit here and take it, not today. She'd come back and try again tomorrow.

"Can't handle the truth can you!" Damon yelled. "Leave. Go on! Do me a favour. While you're at it, do everyone else a favour and leave town. You're nothing but a trouble magnet. Your parents, Jenna, Alaric! They all died because of you!"

Elena slammed the cellar door behind her. Even as she ascended upstairs she could hear Damon's cruel laugh. His words repeated in her head. She knew they weren't true. Or at least mostly not true. A lot of what had happened was because of her, but they were things she could not help. Things she couldn't change even if she so desperately wanted to. _Don't let him get to you_.

* * *

A/N: Update. Hope it was good. Thank you for all the lovely reviews :)

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	12. Guilty Conscience

Damon waited to hear her footsteps. He knew she'd be back. She had heard her conversation with Stefan. Three days. He had given Elena three days to help Damon turn his humanity back on. Damon laughed at the thought. Did she really think she could convince him to turn it back on? She was an idiot for thinking so. Damon had enjoyed every moment of torturing Elena yesterday, the cruel words that shot out of his mouth. He had enjoyed the look on her face when he told her she meant nothing to him anymore. He had enjoyed it all, up until a few hours later that was.

He had a lot of time to think after she left. His words kept replaying. _I don't care about you. I am better off without you. My life is better. You mean nothing to me anymore, Elena. _All the satisfaction he had felt immediately after saying those things to Elena had slowly started to disappear. At first he felt a small amount of guilt for it. Then he started to feel more and more guilty. Eventually after hours of thinking about it, he regretted every word. Small parts of his humanity had slowly started to resurface.

In all honesty it had been like that for days. Every day Stefan had tortured him with wooden stakes and vervain a very small part of Damon's humanity came back. It wasn't like a switch. That analogy was wrong. Turning it off was like a switch, however turning it back on was a whole different story. You couldn't just flick it and all of a sudden your back to normal. It happened gradually and painfully. Or at least that's how it was for Damon. Maybe it was a defence mechanism. Maybe his body wouldn't let him turn it on all at once. Maybe it would be too much if he did. All Damon knew was that with each time a little part of him returned he felt _it_. He felt the heartbreak. It wasn't nearly as bad as when he had un-sired Elena to begin with but that was probably because he wasn't letting it all in yet. He knew eventually if he did turn his humanity back on, it would hurt.

But yesterday had been the worst. Yesterday when another tiny part of his humanity had returned it had sucked. The words Damon had used to hurt Elena had hurt him also. The look on her face and the tears she had shed. Damon had been incredibly sorry. It only lasted a minute or two. Because like every other night the parts of him that returned were shoved to the bottom and the now familiar 'no humanity' Damon would replace any humanity that had come back.

He could hear her now. He could hear her heartbeat too. It seemed more nervous then it had been yesterday. As she began to get closer Damon could smell her also. It was a completely intoxicating scent. As a human Elena had smelled delectable, but as a vampire it was a whole new scent. Damon no longer could smell the delicious scent that had often driven him to the point of madness. Elena still smelled amazing but it was a new scent, a sweet but spicy scent. Like chocolate and cinnamon with a dash of nutmeg. In fact she smelt a bit like Christmas sometimes. Her scent filled his nostrils with every breath and Damon found it hard to hold on to his cruel demeanour.

After a moment he saw her face in the opening of the door and slowly and cautiously she entered, another blood bag in her hand. Suddenly her scent disappeared and all Damon could focus on was the blood. Even though Elena had allowed him a small amount of blood yesterday it had not been nearly enough for him to gain anything from. He was still starving for a feed and desperate for that blood.

"Good morning." Elena greeted Damon.

Damon this time was not looking at the floor. His focus was completely on the blood.

"Same deal as yesterday Damon. You comply and you'll be rewarded." Elena announced.

Damon found himself smirking. "You are not ready for the answers you want." He told her.

"I have different questions today." She answered him.

He watched Elena take a seat in front of him and pour several droplets of blood into a plastic cup. Damon found himself pushing against the vervain soaked ropes even though they were cutting into his skin.

"Did it matter to you that I was sired?" Elena blurted out.

It broke Damon's focus on the blood immediately. He had been prepared for more questions about why he had asked to be killed or how he could be so emotionless. He had not been prepared for this however.

"No." Damon answered truthfully.

Elena nodded and placed the cup to his mouth. Damon greedily slurped the blood into his mouth, licking his lip for every last drop he could get.

"Then why did you break the bond?" Elena questioned.

Damon knew the answer to the question straight away. He had only broken the bond because Stefan had asked him to and for once in Damon's life he knew he should do the right thing. Although had Stefan not persisted with Damon breaking the bond Damon knew he probably never would had. He had been happy in the land of Elena. She had loved him and he had loved her. To him, that was all that had mattered. Sometimes it had bothered him that maybe none of it was real, but then there would be moments where she would look at him and he wondered how anyone could question the truth of it all. She had looked like she had really loved him.

"Stefan asked me to." Damon revealed.

By the look on Elena's face Damon knew this was something Elena did not know. Did Stefan really not tell her it had been him who had made all this happen? Without Stefan and Caroline's meddling Damon was sure this would have been a completely different situation.

"Stefan asked you to? And you said yes? Why?" Elena said.

Damon smirked and tutted his tongue. "Not until I get more blood. One question, one drink. That was the deal."

Elena rolled her eyes but gave Damon more blood anyway.

"I said yes because it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Who ever would have thought that the _bad_ Salvatore brother would do the _right_ thing?" Damon laughed.

But it seemed Damon was the only one laughing. Today Elena seemed like she meant business, or at least more business then she had meant yesterday. Maybe all the things that had happened yesterday had made her see him in a different light. There was no point treating him like he was still the Damon she knew because he wasn't. If she treated him like a criminal or like someone who couldn't be reasoned with then maybe she could get through to him. Or at least that's how Damon saw it.

Elena offered Damon another couple of drops of blood.

"Why did you leave after you broke the bond? You didn't know if I was still going to be in love with you or not. But you left anyway. Why?" Elena asked.

Damon found this question interesting also. Stefan had really been a bit skimpy on the details hadn't he? Of course it had been Stefan who had asked Damon to leave. Damon remembered that conversation like it was yesterday.

_"I want you to break the bond Damon." Stefan said._

_"I don't want to." Damon smirked._

_"Don't be a dick Damon. We all know it's what is best for Elena. This is not about you. Or me. This is about Elena." Stefan replied._

_"What if I say no?" Damon said, cocking an eyebrow._

_"You won't." Stefan responded._

_"And why won't I?" Damon asked._

_"Because you want what is best for Elena too. You know it is the right thing to do." Stefan told him._

_"Say I break the bond, what happens afterwards? We pretend this never happened and go about our lives? Back where we started, Elena between us again?" Damon stated._

_"You leave." Stefan said._

_"What?" No. Why should I leave? You leave." Damon huffed._

_"This is not a game Damon. You know how this works. You break the bond and you leave. If you stay we don't know if it'll work. You have to leave." _

Why had Damon listened to Stefan in the first place?

"Stefan told me I had to. I knew what had to be done, so I did it." Damon said, through gritted teeth.

His answered seemed rehearsed and fake and that was partly because it was. Stefan had told him to leave and he did what had to be done but he didn't just leave because he was told to. He left because he knew if he stayed and watched her choose Stefan he wouldn't be able to take it. However he had not anticipated how much it would hurt to lose her anyway. Had he known he would have stayed.

"Without another thought about me?" Elena whispered.

"We are back to you? Here we go." Damon said, rolling his eyes. "I did that _for_ you. Don't you get that? I was doing the right thing. I was the one who stood up and decided to be the good one for once in my life. You have a problem with that go take it up with _Steffy_. He was the one who couldn't stand you being in love with me. If I could do it all over again I would change it all!" Damon yelled.

It was then he realised what game Elena was playing. He watched her expression change from neutral to happy. A smile danced on her lips.

"Don't flatter yourself." Damon growled. "I wouldn't change it because of what you think." He lied.

"Oh really? Why would you change it then?" Elena questioned.

"I'd change it so I would take what I want instead of letting people tell me what I can and can't take. I would have taken you when we first met that night your parents died instead of playing head games with Stefan. You would have been my greatest victory over Stefan. It would have been the best revenge plan ever." Damon replied.

"So that's what I would have been to you? A way to get revenge on Stefan? You would have changed it all so instead of falling in love with me you would have used me?" Elena asked.

"Yes. Love is for fools. It makes you weak. Like I said yesterday, I'm better off without you. I should have done away with you long ago." Damon spat.

He watched Elena's face turn once again. She had gone from thinking she had succeeded in bringing Damon back to once again realising just how horrible he really was. This time Damon didn't have to wait for the feelings of guilt and regret because they were right there on the surface. Each word that he knew had hurt her only hurt him more. His face remained unreadable and angry while his insides churned in disgust.

Elena got up and turned to face the door.

"You know what? Whether you like it or not you were in love with me. You were a better man and vampire for that." Elena told him.

Damon scoffed, even though he knew what she was saying was true. Once again he watched her leave.

"See you tomorrow, Elena!" Damon called out after her.

* * *

A/N: I've really been loving this regular update thing I have going on. It keeps all you guys happy and on top of that I get to hear all your wonderful thoughts. I truly do appreciate and love every review (at least the positive ones) I get. I am grateful for constructive criticism. I love hearing all your theories on what might happen :P

Anywho I read this really amazing story the other day (Vampire Diaries, Delena fic) and I wanted to give it a shout out because it was one of the most well written pieces of fan fic I have ever read. It has inspired me to start trying to write longer and more descriptive chapters. Unfortunately the author towards the end decided they no longer wanted to continue their story (it happens, trust me!) and they did not finish it. However, the last chapter is a summary of what future chapters would have entailed, so you kind of get the gist. If are interested it was called 'Every Student Needs a Teacher' and it was by 'Auntleona0'. It's full of really well written smut with some plot :P

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

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	13. Day Three

_Day Three_. Elena glanced at her reflection in one of the mirrors hanging on the wall in the parlour at the boarding house. Some might say she was a bit _overdressed_ but Elena thought it might possibly be the opposite. Lucky for her Stefan had already left for the day, just as he had promised. Elena vaguely remembered something about him seeing Klaus about something. Elena hoped it would take all day but more than that she hoped he'd stick to their promise for this very last day. The last thing she needed today was Stefan listening to her - or worse seeing her - trying to bring Damon's humanity back.

Today was her last ditch effort. The last two days had been terrible to say the least. The first day she had let Damon get to her, even though she was sure he didn't mean what he said. The second day although more prepared and armed with a different tactic Elena once again let it all get to her. Although she hated the situation she was in, she was glad for the distraction. Helping Damon get his humanity back had been distracting her from her thoughts and her confusion.

Although all this time spent with Damon wasn't really helping the situation. Elena knew that she loved Stefan but was it the kind of love she was supposed to be feeling towards him? Stefan loved her with every fibre of himself. He would die for her in an instant. Elena wasn't sure she felt the same. She cared a lot about him and he was certainly the kindest, warm hearted vampire she was sure she would ever know. He was a true gentleman and every girls' perfect prince. Except Elena wasn't sure he was hers. She had been going along with being his girlfriend once again because she was trying her hardest to have some normality back in her life.

All this time spent with Damon made her question her relationship. Last night she had gone to bed thinking about what if Damon stayed after breaking the bond? Would Elena have returned to Damon? Or would she have still chosen Stefan? She couldn't help but wonder if things might have been different. But the question that wouldn't leave was did she really love him? If not still now, then had she? Had it been real? Had it been a consequence of the sire bond? Elena wanted to know.

She dismissed her thoughts suddenly as she returned to the matter at hand. Damon was down in the cellar probably waiting for her. He knew she would be back, Elena was sure of that. On top of that Elena knew after having small amounts of blood for two days Damon would be stronger than days past. He would probably be more talkative and vile. Could Elena really handle more insults? She hoped so. She also hoped that after what she had planned he wouldn't have any insults to give.

Elena walked into the cellar and found Damon tapping his feet impatiently. When she entered the room Damon smirked at her.

"What no blood today?" He pouted.

"Not today." Elena replied, pushing the chair she had been sitting on for the past two days to the side.

"I'm not going to comply then. No blood, no answers." Damon said.

Elena wrung her hands nervously.

"I'm serious." He added triumphantly.

It took a moment for Elena to get her head in the game but after a few moments reassuring herself that this was the way to go Elena began unbuttoning her coat. Damon watched on with a bored look on his face. Elena was sure he wasn't expecting what she was about to do. Two buttons down the tops of Elena's breasts were visible and Damon started to furrow his brows. Another button undone and it was then Damon realised what Elena was doing.

"Really? You're going to fix me by getting naked?" Damon scoffed.

"I'm not naked." Elena replied.

Finally every button on her long coat was undone and Elena revealed her lingerie clad body. The exact same lingerie Elena had been in the night her and Damon had sex. She dropped her coat on the dirt floor and kicked it to the side with her stiletto clad foot. This was new for Elena. She didn't often go about flaunting her body dressed like this. In fact more often than not she preferred jeans and t-shirts to lingerie. It was little daunting to be in front of Damon wearing just her underwear.

She watched Damon's eyes scan her up and down for several minutes. The room was otherwise silent. Her hands were placed on her hips and her legs slightly apart. If Stefan walked in right now Elena would be severely embarrassed. She didn't at all plan to sleep with Damon or do anything besides maybe a kiss. It was her plan to make him want her, make him say he loved her. Hopefully her body could help her. She had absolutely no intentions of betraying Stefan.

"Does Steffy boy know you're parading around in your lingerie for dear old me?" Damon mocked.

"Stefan promised to keep out of this for three days. Today is three days." Elena responded.

Elena walked close to Damon and placed her hand on his cheek. His skin was dry from the lack of blood. Her breasts rose with each breathe she took. Damon stared up at her face, Elena looking deep into his eyes. Was it working?

"Oh I see then. You're going to bribe me with your body. Classy." Damon said.

Elena pursed her lips. Maybe this was going to be harder then she had thought.

"Don't you like what you see Damon?" Elena asked.

"That's not the point." Damon replied.

"What is the point then?" Elena questioned.

"The point is you're in your underwear and your boyfriend is no where to be seen. See the point? You're being an un-faithful bitch." Damon spat.

Elena was caught off guard by his harshness. She knew Stefan would not be happy with her tactics. She knew this was being a tad bit unfaithful but she had somehow convinced herself that it was okay. If it was going to bring Damon back then it was okay, right?

"Should I go then?" Elena whispered.

"Probably." Damon shrugged.

It was hard to hear Damon pretty much rejecting her. She needed this to work. Sure Stefan could take over after today but why would Damon want to come back for Stefan? He was after all the one who made him break the bond and leave. If anyone was going to bring Damon back, it was going to be Elena. It was her fault Damon had turned it off. She had been the one to break his heart. Not even just that one time. Elena had been pulled between the two brothers for a long time and Damon had always stood by her. He had been there no matter her choices. She had to bring him back.

Elena took a big breath and walked around to the back of Damon. She had no idea what she was about to do. Her fingers started untying the ropes. Had she gone mad? What she was going to do when he was free? She was stronger than him at the moment but if he got loose and drank the blood in the chest freezer, she would be dead. He would kill her. Even with those thoughts running through her head Elena found herself still untying the ropes until eventually Damon was free.

It took Damon a moment to realise but once he did he shakily stood. Elena was still behind him, her heart beating erratically.

"What did you do?" Damon asked.

"I untied you." Elena replied.

"Why?" Damon questioned.

"I don't know." Elena said.

Damon took Elena by the neck and pushed her up against the wall. Elena felt his hands wrap around her neck. Even with little blood in his system he was still stronger than the average human. His body pressed hard against hers, her back pressing against the cool brick wall.

"Are you stupid?" Damon growled. "I could kill you."

"Why haven't you?" Elena replied.

Elena felt his grip loosen on her neck, allowing her more air.

Both of them stared at each other heaving for air even though they had done nothing to exert themselves. Elena's breasts were pressed up against Damon's hard chest. One second later Damon pressed his lips to Elena's and kissed her. Only it wasn't a kiss Elena had felt in awhile. It was hard and passionate. His tongue parted her lips and danced with her own tongue. Nothing could be heard in the room except for the sound of their kissing.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I know this is super short, but the next chapter is like a continuation of this one, only in Damon's POV. So I thought that kind of justified the length. Anyways, I do plan on updating this maybe the next day due to the shortness. Once again, thank you for all the wonderful reviews. I'm currently in the process of writing chapter 23 (can you believe it!?), so I can promise you that this story is far from finished.

Hope it was enjoyable.

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	14. Damon Is Back

God he had missed kissing her. Her baby soft lips, they were like heaven.

When she walked in that room wearing the same lingerie she had worn the night they had sex, Damon all but lost his mind. He knew he wouldn't be able to pretend like he was a lost cause for much longer. His intentions were to make her leave as quick as possible. He didn't want his humanity back but most of all he didn't want Elena to be the one to bring them back. What sad irony. After all it was because of her that he had turned it off to begin with. It had been the worst kind of torture when she placed her hand on his cheek. All he wanted to do was break free and ravish her the way he had that first night.

But it was when she began to untie him that Damon knew it was all over. Once his hands were free he knew he wouldn't stop himself from having her. If she was going to play this game then so would he. His heart ached for her more than anything else in the entire world and although most of his humanity had returned that small part of earth shattering heart break hadn't managed to come through yet. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would feel that. But in the mean time Elena was stood before him wearing little fabric on her delectable body and he had no intentions of rejecting her even if that's what he was making it out to seem.

Damon quickly let go of her neck only to place his hands on her waist and lift her up. He pushed his body hard up against hers so her back was flush with the wall. Elena willingly wrapped her legs around Damon's waist, her stilettos occasionally jabbing Damon in the back. Damon momentarily pried himself away from Elena's lips to nip at the skin on her neck. It was definitely one of his favourite spots to kiss. Every delicious scent that her body had came from that neck, not to mention the way she moaned when his teeth grazed her jugular.

Elena craned her neck to give Damon more access to the area, running her fingers through his dirty, messed up hair. He hadn't showered in weeks and he was sure he smelt like vervain and sweat but it seemed to only spur Elena on. He revelled in the way she seemed to want more contact.

If things between them could be this simple, Damon would be able to live. If she couldn't love him and he didn't love her but they could still do this Damon could be happy. As long as Stefan disappeared from the picture and Elena never slept with anyone else. It was a completely unrealistic picture, but it was also picture perfect. But he knew it wouldn't happen. He did love her, even if he wanted to deny it for the rest of his life. He loved her with his entire being.

"Stop." Elena breathed all of a sudden. "Damon stop."

Damon wanted to pretend like he hadn't heard or he was really as heartless as he wanted her to think but he couldn't. As much as he wanted to continue ravishing her he couldn't ignore her pleas. He wasn't that kind of guy…or at least right now.

"What? What is it?" Damon asked, pulling back to look into her eyes.

He regretted the instant he had. He saw it in her eyes. The regret. Damon dropped her the moment he realised her look. She fell to the ground quite ungracefully but picked herself up quick. Damon turned around and took several steps across the small room. He slammed his fist against the brick wall, cracking a few bricks.

"Fuck!" He yelled.

"Damon…" Elena began.

"Shut up." He growled.

Damon was desperately trying to calm himself down. The anger inside him boiled furiously, pushing itself closer and closer to the surface. If he let it rise any further he wouldn't be able to control himself. He could hurt her. He _wanted_ to hurt her. The most part of his humanity was back, that was for sure because he felt angry and hurt. He felt his heart beat erratically at the thought of loving her. Why did he love her? Why did he continue to love women who loved his brother more?

"I fixed you." She whispered all of a sudden.

But her words only fuelled the fire. _I fixed you_, was all she had to say? After all of that? It may have been a few irrational minutes of kissing but it was more than that to Damon and surely she would have known that. Maybe she didn't know his humanity (or most of it) had returned but she wasn't that cruel was she? To play this game of all games? To get him all worked up only to push him away and run back to Stefan?

Then he felt it. A sharp pain in his chest, a familiar unsettling feeling coursing through his whole body. It was the heart ache. Being a vampire sucked. It wasn't like having your heart broken as a human because as a vampire everything you feel is magnified. Damon as a human might not have been loyal or that kind but one thing was for sure that he was a lover. A man who loved whole heartedly. So as a vampire when he loved, he really fucking loved. That was proved by waiting 150 years to free Katherine. Who waits around for a girl who he knew was fucking his brother too? Damon. Because he loved her.

Damon clutched his chest, determined not to let her know how he was feeling.

"Damon are you okay?" Elena asked, stepping closer to him.

"Leave." He growled.

"No, not until I know you're okay." Elena replied.

Damon whipped his head around so fast to meet her eyes it made him dizzy.

"Until I'm okay? Why would I _ever_ be okay? You seduced me knowing full well I'm in fucking love with you, humanity or no humanity Elena! Did it all go to plan? Are you happy now? Are you happy that I'm feeling it all over again. The heart ache, the earth shattering pain of having my heart not not only broken into tiny pieces but being pissed all over and stomped on? You got your way! I turned it back on! I'm fixed." Damon yelled.

"I didn't mean for that to happen…it wasn't supposed to go like this. You weren't supposed to kiss me." Elena said.

"You kissed me back! You liked it!" Damon continued to yell.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do…I should have…this was…I'm sorry." Elena sobbed.

"Just leave!" Damon told her.

Damon waited to hear the boarding house door slam shut before he fell to his knees and broke down for the second time over his heart break for Elena. Not only was he completely broken for the initial heart break he had stuffed down inside after breaking the sire bond but now he was hurt for what she had done today. The only small good thing to come of all of this was he no longer wanted to die for the way he felt. All Damon wanted was to not love her. He would be happy to not love her.

* * *

A/N: Just like I promised. I know this is another short chapter but like I said in the previous chapter that this is a continuation of that chapter. So if you combined the two of them it's really a pretty standard chapter. Thanks for all the lovely reviews, once again. You guys keep me writing.

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	15. I'm Done Fighting For You

Elena had locked herself away the minute she left the boarding house yesterday afternoon. She didn't even bother to call Stefan to tell him she had brought Damon back. No. She couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to pick up the phone and pretend like she hadn't kissed Damon. Because she had. It had been great too. That was the worst part for Elena. She didn't regret it at all and enjoyed it more then she wanted to and that's what was eating her up inside.

She glanced at her phone. Several missed calls and two voicemails. She knew they were all from Stefan. Elena was sure after he returned home last night and found her not only gone but probably Damon too he would have questions. Maybe he thought she'd run away with him. That thought made Elena sick. She didn't want Stefan to think she was some kind of unfaithful slut who ran off with his brother the very moment she had the chance. It was then she decided the check her voicemails.

_Hey. Where are you? I came home and you were gone…Damon is here though. In the parlour acting like himself. What did you do? Did you fix him? Call me when you get this._

_Hey. Still haven't heard from you. Damon won't tell me what happened between you two and I'm getting kind of worried. Are you okay? Did he say something to you again? Please call me back Elena._

Okay, so at least Stefan didn't think she had run away with Damon. But now what? Was she supposed to go over to the boarding house and pretend like nothing happened between her and Damon? Lie to Stefan. Tell him she won him over with smiles and kind words? Stefan would never believe that and on the off chance that he did Elena did not feel comfortable feeding him lies. If the kiss had been a mistake, if she felt remotely guilty at all over the kiss she would be there right now spilling the details and telling Stefan how sorry she is. That was the problem though wasn't it? It wasn't a mistake.

The moment their lips touched Elena forgot all about Stefan and how confused she had been. Damon brought her to a comforting, normal place that she didn't know she was ever going to see again. For the brief minutes that they had been engaged in each other all Elena's confusing thoughts and feelings and disappeared. That wasn't to say she knew what she wanted, because she didn't. No. When she had told Damon to stop and he had, Elena had no idea what she was doing. This wasn't the kind of person she was. She didn't go around kissing her boyfriend's brother. Or at least not until said boyfriend was not her boyfriend anymore.

But did she want that? Did she want to be with Damon? Did she no longer love Stefan? It was all still very confusing.

Elena scrolled through her contacts on her cell phone to find Stefan's name. She knew she needed to face him. But as she thought about calling him she couldn't, she couldn't break news like that to him over the phone. It was cruel. So she picked up her keys and drove over to the boarding house.

She half expected the Salvatore's to be at each other's throats when she walked in the door but she was met with no such thing. Stefan and Damon stood a few feet from each other with a glass of bourbon in each of their hands. They had smiles stretched across their faces and looked like true brothers who hadn't fought over a girl or tortured each other to the point of near death.

"Hey!" Stefan called out, gesturing for Elena to join them.

Elena warily walked towards the brothers.

"Damon was just telling me how you helped him turn his humanity back on." Stefan revealed, kissing Elena's forehead.

"He was?" Elena asked, starting to worry.

Damon smirked in her direction and placed a glass of bourbon in her hands.

"Yeah. You know how you repeatedly cut me open and poured vervain water in my wounds for hours each day. By the third day, I'll tell you brother I was ready to snap." Damon said.

Elena's eyebrows furrowed at Damon's revelation. Damon wasn't really the kind of guy to lie about being with Elena. In fact Elena was pretty sure he loved rubbing things like that in Stefan's face. Elena smiled tightly and pretended like his story was true.

"Oh yeah." Elena awkwardly laughed.

She listened as her Salvatore boys conversed easily. It was like Damon was back to his usual self. The heart broken, hurt man she had seen yesterday was gone. He had been replaced by the Damon she first knew. Cocky, confident Damon. It was weird to know that she had been kissing him just yesterday and now it was like nothing happened.

Stefan's cell started to ring and one glance at the caller I.D and Stefan was groaning.

"It's Klaus." He said.

"What does he want now?" Elena asked.

"He's been asking about Damon." Stefan replied.

"Oh. You should answer that then." Elena smiled.

Stefan answered the cell and walked out of the room. Elena stood there in an awkward silence until Damon broke it.

"I'm not going to tell Stefan." Damon said.

"Why not?" Elena asked.

"Because Elena I have come to realise that I seem to put myself in the same position every time. Loving a girl who loves my brother. I'm done. You obviously want Stefan, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten back together with him so quick. The sire bond made you think you loved me. That's not your fault. It sucked and I should have handled it better. Now I'm on the other side I see where I've been going wrong. I care about you and I think I always will, so I'll save you when you need saving and I'll be there when you need me to be but I'm done fighting for you." Damon told her.

Just as Elena was about to reply Stefan returned.

"Such a dick." Stefan said. "Klaus told me to tell you that next time this happens he won't be so generous."

"It won't happen again." Damon replied.

He looked to Elena and gave a knowing look. Elena gave a small smile back. Her insides felt uneasy, a part of her felt like she was experiencing a break up. She knew she loved having both brothers care for her, that was a sure thing. They kept her safe and loved her unconditionally. Elena loved knowing that if one brother wasn't around the other was and vice versa. She supposed she still had that. Damon said he'd still be there for her, save her if the time came. But that was not what bothered her. All this time she had had two options. Stefan and Damon. One brother who she had loved from the minute they met, kind, generous, loving and gentle. The other she had grown to love, dangerous, smart, beautiful and arrogant.

A choice that she once had to make for herself was taken from her. She didn't have to choose anymore which should have made her happy or relieved at the very least. But knowing that Damon had pulled his hat out of the ring or that he didn't want her anymore, it gave her an odd kind of feeling. A feeling she couldn't name or place but a feeling she knew wasn't good.

* * *

A/N: I know, another short chapter. I am horrible. I really hate delivering short chapters because I know myself that when I'm reading an update that I really wish the author wrote a longer chapter. The good thing is that this is my 3rd update in what, three or four days. So I hope that it somewhat makes up for the lack of writing in each of those chapters.

I want to touch on something quickly also. I received a lot of feedback about my perception of Elena. To be honest with you it was never really my intention to make her cruel or a total bitch. Yet as I continued to write her, it kept coming. I think this stems from the fact that I think she gets away with so much on the show. Don't get me wrong, I love Elena as a character but in the show she is constantly being saved and other people are losing so much to keep her alive. I do perceive her as kind of selfish, but I feel like I have exaggerated her slight personality flaws quite a bit. For that I am sorry. I know at times (and it will probably continue to happen as the story goes on) that Elena can feel OOC, please bare with me on this. I don't really know how to write this story and interactions with Elena, without making her seem a little bitchy and selfish.

Anyways, thanks for all your feedback, it's always appreciated.

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	16. Caroline's Realisation

"So…how was he?" Caroline questioned.

"How was who?" Elena responded, trying to concentrate on her history assignment.

Caroline huffed and sat up abruptly on the bed. She had been bored the very second they had decided to do homework instead of manicures. But Elena needed a friend and Caroline was that friend. She had barely spoken to Elena since the breaking of the sire bond. In truth, Caroline felt a little guilty about how all of this had panned out. Damon had first wanted to die, then turned his humanity off and went on a killing spree and then Elena had to pull him back out of it. It was all a giant mess. A mess that Caroline wondered whether it could have been avoided.

"Damon. Duh. I ran into Stefan and he said you helped Damon turn his humanity back on." Caroline said.

The truth was Caroline had run into Stefan a few days ago. Stefan had been all too eager to reveal everything that had happened. He had filled Caroline in on how Damon was suddenly back to his old self. Stefan had revealed that he was uneasy about the situation and that Damon was planning on staying in Mystic Falls which didn't please Stefan or Caroline. Although Caroline felt guilty about how everything had gone down, she agreed whole heartedly with Stefan about what was best for Elena. No one could be sure whether the bond was truly broken and the best thing for Elena was for Damon to disappear. But he wasn't going to do that on his own.

When Stefan had told Caroline he wanted to ask Klaus to compel Damon to leave town and never come back she had been a little surprised. Stefan was usually calm and rational about things but not about this. He was completely crazy with fear about what would happen if Damon stayed. It took a little while but after a few convincing speeches Stefan had Caroline convinced it was the right thing to do. She had reluctantly offered her services (a date with Klaus) to help Stefan get what he wanted.

"He was fine." Elena replied in the most monotone voice she could muster.

"You didn't feel…anything about…you know, seeing him?" Caroline asked.

"Caroline I'm trying to get this done. I'm so behind on this assignment it's not funny. What is with all the questions about Damon?" Elena snapped.

"I'm just trying to get an idea about how you're feeling." Caroline said.

"I feel fine. Damon is fine. I am fine. You have nothing to be worried about. I'm with Stefan. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to finish this." Elena replied.

Caroline gave her friend a small smile as an apology. "I'm just going to run downstairs and give my mom a quick call."

Caroline made her way downstairs into the furthest most room from Elena's. Lucky for Caroline Elena was also playing music in her room. Caroline quickly dialled a number and waited for an answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey Stefan it's Caroline." Caroline said.

"Hey. Is something up? Is Elena alright?" Stefan asked.

"She's fine. I just wanted to talk to you about the Damon thing. You know…with Klaus. I'm not really sure it is the right thing after all." Caroline revealed.

"What? Why?" Stefan said.

"I don't think we should worry about Elena being sired to Damon. She seems fine. Totally un affected by his return. Maybe if you just asked Damon to keep a reasonable distance for awhile…" Caroline told Stefan.

"No. No way. I'm not going to ask Damon to stay away from Elena. He'll do exactly the opposite. You know what he's like. We have a plan Caroline. We talked about this." Stefan sighed.

"I know we did Stefan but you have Elena. You have her. She wants you. Damon's not even on her radar anymore. I don't think you have anything to worry about." Caroline said.

"That's what he wants!" Stefan yelled. "He wants me to think he doesn't want her and that she's mine and then he'll swoop in and he'll have her under his control again. She's still sired…I just know she is."

Caroline honestly didn't know what to do. She had already betrayed Elena in more ways then she could possibly think of over the last couple of months that she wasn't sure she wanted to continue to do it. She knew that most of the things she had done were for Elena's benefit but this was getting out of hand. Stefan was becoming crazy with the idea that Elena was still sired to Damon. Even though Caroline desperately wanted Elena to be with Stefan because in her opinion that was the right person for her, the choice should be Elena's.

"I know you love her Stefan and trust me, I want her to be with you. But don't you think Elena should make that choice? I mean she has, she's with you. But compelling every man that she might possibly fall for in the future away…that's kind of weird and crazy." Caroline suggested.

"I can protect her. I can keep her safe. _I'm_ the best thing for her and you know that." Stefan growled.

"I don't think I can do this anymore Stefan…I don't think I can be apart of this plan any longer." Caroline said.

"What are you saying?" Stefan asked.

"Tell Klaus the date is not apart of the deal anymore. You'll have to find some other way for him to help you. I'm out." Caroline replied.

With that Caroline hung up. Upstairs was her best friend who had been through more tragedy in a such a short period of time than any person should ever have to go through. Her parents, Jenna, Alaric…Elena had no choice in how those things happened. Caroline believed that the sire bond had been broken and any choice from this point on Elena made regarding Damon was her own and not part of some weird supernatural bond. She wanted Elena to choose Stefan, but she also wanted Elena to be happy. If that was with Stefan or Damon or some guy she met in 10 years so be it.

Caroline was a meddler but she was done meddling in Elena's love life.

She walked back upstairs and found Elena still furiously writing in her notebook. Apart from the blood bags on the floor everything was pretty normal. Elena looked every bit as human as she was 3 years ago before any vampires had walked into her life.

"Did you call your mom?" Elena asked, briefly looking up from her assignment.

"Yeah. Told her I might be late tonight. We still have manicures to do." Caroline grinned.

* * *

A/N: Just a quick explanation. The part in this chapter where Caroline and Stefan are talking about a deal with Klaus was initially a whole chapter in itself. I had written this chapter about how Stefan goes to Klaus' house and begs him to compel Damon to stay away from Elena. But when I was reading it I just didn't like it and it didn't feel necessary anymore. I have written so much of this story right now (chapter 31! woohoo!) and I recently decided that I wouldn't have Klaus to do that to Damon because I felt like as evil as Klaus can be he's a sucker for true love. So I'm sorry for the confusion in that little section. Basically the deal was Caroline would agree to a date (of Klaus' choice) in exchange for Klaus compelling Damon to leave town and forget about Elena and never return.

Also sorry for yet another short chapter. I'm sincerely hoping that these regular updates are at least getting all of you by. I do promise there are some longer chapters on the way.

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	17. Heather

Damon ran his hands along Elena's bare back. Her skin felt like silk beneath his finger tips. Her legs straddled his hips as Damon laid soft kisses along her collar bone. There was no where he'd rather be and no one he'd rather be with. Elena's long brunette locks cascaded across her shoulders and she looked every bit the goddess Damon thought she was. A goddess of love, a goddess of compassion, a goddess of sex. He loved the way her teeth captured her bottom lip every time Damon grazed his teeth along her neck.

She trailed his chest with her hands, finding every muscle. The skin on skin contact between them was electrifying and by far one of the best intimate experiences of either of their lives. Every touch felt like the first. Damon pulled her in close and placed his lips against hers, prying her mouth open gently with his tongue so they could begin an intimate battle. His hands became lost in her hair while hers raked down his back. Every mark they made on each other's bodies disappearing at a rapid speed.

Damon's eyes were closed as she broke apart from their kiss to start a trail down his jaw. Her lips were soft and luscious as she licked and sucked her way back up his neck. But then everything started to feel different. Her skin colour changed from that beautiful sun kissed olive, to a pale white. Her hair seemed to shorten quite a bit, stopping just short of her shoulders. Damon's brows furrowed his confusion at the sudden change of texture beneath his hands.

Then he opened his eyes.

Sweat beaded down his forehead as he realised he had been dreaming. He blinked a few times staring up at the ceiling above his bed trying to work out why he was dreaming of Elena and how it had come about. His gaze shifted from the ceiling to beside him where he found his bedmate. Pale skin, short blonde hair. Then he remembered last night.

_"Heather." The woman introduced herself as._

_"Damon Salvatore."_

Every part of his night returned to his memory. The woman at the bar who was tall and beautiful. The way she flirted with her eyes but acted like a lady. Damon had invited her back to the boarding house after a few drinks but they had barely made it through the door before they were stripping each other of their clothes. He smirked at the memory of her perky breasts and that perfectly round ass.

As his bedmate started to stir Damon traced one of her nipples that had become exposed as the sheet covering her had moved. Without opening her eyes Heather gasped as Damon pinched her nipple between his thumb and finger.

"Such an inviting way to wake up." Heather said, her eyes flickering open.

Damon had quickly forgotten his dream about the girl he said he no longer loved. Looking into the bright blue eyes of his companion he no longer had thoughts about Elena. He ran his hands down the valley between her breasts and down her torso stopping short of where she wanted his hands most. Her hips raised slightly as a way of indicating she wanted it.

"Don't be a tease." She pouted.

"Me? A tease. Never." Damon whispered, nipping at her neck.

His lips curled into a satisfied smile and it was then he started to remember one of the most important facts he had learned last night.

_In a drunken stumble Damon pinned Heather against the wall beside his bed only for a second later to be pinned underneath her on the bed in a lightening fast move._

_"Vampire." He smirked._

_"Oh sorry, did I forget to mention that?" She laughed._

"Hungry." Heather groaned, pushing Damon's hands from her.

Damon got out of bed not bothering to cover his naked body. He walked over to his dresser looking for any drop of blood he could come up with. He usually had a small supply hidden but had come up short today.

"I'll have to go down and get some blood." Damon informed her, pulling on a pair of loose pants.

"Maybe I'll join you." Heather smirked, picking up Damon's shirt from last night and throwing it over her body. It covered her torso and went slightly down her thighs. Enough to cover her up.

Damon grabbed her and slammed her against the wall next to the door. She let out a slight sigh as her back hit the wall but Damon didn't care. He attacked her neck with his mouth and ran his hand up her thigh. He dick was throbbing and as hard as a rock. He anticipated getting some action before breakfast but Heather had other ideas.

With ease Heather pushed him away and tutted her tongue at him. Damon found her intriguing and playful. It was nice to have a woman companion (although he didn't know this one that well). Heather followed him down to the cellar where Damon took out two blood bags, throwing one to her. They retreated back up to the parlour. Damon watched as she started guzzling down the blood and waited for her to completely relax before he pounced and had her up against the wall. She was taken by surprise completely but seemed not too mind too much.

Damon began palming her naked crotch, waiting for her to grow wet enough for him to enter. He captured every single one of her moans with his mouth. Heather snaked her hand between them and took hold of Damon's stiff dick, stroking it in an expert manner.

Too caught up in each other's presence they did not notice the presence of anyone else.

"Really brother? In the parlour? You have a bedroom." Stefan called out.

Damon rolled his eyes in annoyance at the sudden interruption. But when he turned around to face his brother it was not Stefan who his eyes fixed on, it was Elena. She was standing beside Stefan with an unreadable expression on her face. Damon could not tell whether she was surprised, hurt, angry, jealous or just did not care. He wasn't sure which one of those he wanted her to feel. He had all but forgotten about the woman he had pinned against the wall until Heather cleared her throat.

"Sorry." Damon whispered as he released her.

Heather tried to cover herself up as much as possible but her eyes immediately transfixed on the petite brunette standing beside the other Salvatore. Was this the girl Damon had briefly mentioned last night? Elena something or rather.

"Stefan, Elena this is Heather. Heather this is my broody brother and his _girlfriend_." Damon introduced everyone.

The whole time however Damon could not take his eyes off Elena. _I do not love her. I do not love her_. He kept telling himself.

"If you'll excuse us." Stefan said, taking Elena's hand.

Damon watched as Stefan pulled Elena upstairs. He was in no mood to have sex anymore.

"So that's her." Heather said.

"That's who?" Damon asked, trying to act like he didn't care.

"The girl you wanted to die for." Heather replied.

"That's in the past. She means nothing to me now." Damon assured Heather.

Heather shrugged her shoulders, making her way back to Damon's bedroom. "If you say so. Are you coming or what?" Heather smirked.

Damon gestured for her to go ahead. Out of view Damon slammed his first against the wall, a crack appearing in it's place.

* * *

A/N: So Damon has a new woman in his life. I always felt like at some point in this story Damon was going to have a 'thing' with another woman. Whether he falls in love with her or not, well I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out ;)

Also I just wanted to address something really quickly. I had a couple of reviews asking me about whether or not Damon has shut out his love for Elena (sort of like turning off his humanity but only the part that loves Elena). I think for me, Damon has simply decided to tell himself he does not love her anymore. He's trying so hard to act like she's nothing to him. He wants not to love her and the only way he knows how to do that is to act like he doesn't. So I hope that clears up that little query.

One last thing, lots and lots of you are wondering where this story is going to end. Is this going to be Delena at the end or isn't it? I've also had a lot of people saying they no longer think Elena deserves Damon and if they were to end up together at the end it would be horrible. I'm pretty sure I know how this story is going to end but I have lately been thinking I might write two endings. I'm not sure yet. I want to write the ending the way I feel this story should end but I have lately been thinking about the alternative as well. Would you be interested in two endings or should I just write one? Let me know!

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	18. Damon's Advice

Elena tried to concentrate on the conversation she was having with Stefan at that moment. But really all she could think about was the barely dressed woman in Damon's company. She nodded and smiled as often as was required of her and pretended exactly like she was hearing everything her boyfriend was saying. Only her hearing was trying to focus somewhere else, trying desperately to catch any sounds coming from the other Salvatore brother's bedroom.

"Elena are you listening?" Stefan asked, startling her from her thoughts.

"Oh. Uhm. Yeah. Sorry. I just have…a lot of my mind I guess." Elena said, offering Stefan a small smile.

Stefan took her hand in his and rubbed the top of it soothingly. To be honest it did nothing for Elena. An act that once would have warmed her heart or comforted her now just felt odd.

It had been just a couple of hours since she had gone over to the boarding house with Stefan but every moment of that hour her mind had been consumed of thoughts about the woman Damon was with. Who was she? Elena found herself wondering if she was jealous or just curious. It was alright to be curious she told herself. Damon was…a friend? Damon was _something_ to her, whatever that was. So it meant naturally she was curious when he bought other women home right? Worried for his safety or something along those lines.

Once again Stefan noticed her absent mind and sighed. Elena noticed his annoyance but could barely find it in herself to apologise.

"I have to run a quick errand, but I'll be back in an hour or so. Will you be okay till then?" Stefan asked, standing from his seat.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked.

"Caroline wanted some help with something. I'll be back as soon as I can." Stefan replied, placing a quick kiss on the top of Elena's head and then disappearing.

Elena thought nothing more of his leaving until her cell started to ring and Caroline's name flashed upon her screen.

"Hey Care." She answered.

"Hey! How are you?" Caroline asked.

"I'm good. What's up?" Elena said.

"I was looking for Stefan. He's not answering his cell." Caroline informed Elena.

Elena's brows furrowed. "He just left to meet you…"

There was a slight pause between the two girls. "Oh…uh. Right. Yeah. I was just…wondering how long he was going to be…yeah. I'll talk to you later! Bye."

With that Caroline hung up. Elena knew the moment Caroline had lied that it was a lie. Caroline could not lie, she was a terrible liar. Her voice shook every time she lied. Caroline was a great organiser and good at many things, but lying was not one of them. Instantly Elena was annoyed that both Stefan and Caroline were once again lying to her. Only this time she had no idea why Stefan would lie about seeing Caroline. Where was he really going? Elena wanted to know.

She made her way down the hall to Damon's bedroom and burst in without a knock, completely forgetting about the company Damon was keeping.

When her eyes made contact with a very naked Heather and an almost naked Damon Elena realised her mistake.

"Oh…sorry." Elena said, covering her eyes.

"Elena. What can I help you with?" Damon asked, shielding Heather's body with his own.

"I just wanted to ask you something…but it can wait. I'll find you another time." Elena replied.

"You know what, I was just leaving." Heather said, grabbing her shirt from the bed and throwing it over her head. "I've got things to do today and I've been here too long. I'll call you."

Elena watched on as Heather gathered the rest of her clothing and kissed Damon on the cheek. It was brief and made Elena feel slightly out of place. Elena waited to hear the sound of Heather's car disappear down the road before she dared to speak again.

"What can I do for you?" Damon asked, standing a few feet in front of Elena in nothing but a pair of pants.

She wanted nothing more then to ask Damon what Stefan was up to, but found herself fixated on the muscle of his chest and the way his arms flexed as he leaned against the wall.

"Elena?"

"Right. Stefan. He left before saying he was meeting Caroline but she called and I think he was lying. Do you know where he went?" Elena asked.

"Why would I know? Stefan doesn't tell me anything. I get the distinct impression he wants me gone." Damon replied.

"I'm sure that's not true." Elena said.

Damon raised an eyebrow. Elena knew that it was probably true. Damon's presence clearly made Stefan uneasy. Elena imagined it had something to do with the sire bond or Damon's affections towards Elena.

"Anyway. I don't know where he is."

Elena nodded her head slowly. Every part of her was telling her to leave now, the conversation was over and now it was time to leave. But some other part of her couldn't get her feet to move, or her eyes to stop staring at Damon's torso. Damon noticed. He smirked at the way Elena ogled at him.

"See something you like?" He joked.

Elena's cheek blushed a bright red. But it wasn't just for the fact that she had been caught staring at Damon's naked torso, it was for the fact that she was enjoying the way he looked. She started to imagine all the ways he had been pleasuring his bedmate, all the ways he had made her scream. If Elena was remembering correctly Damon was a fantastic lover. He knew exactly where and how to touch her. All the right places to kiss and all the right things to say. In fact there were points in their intimacy where Damon just had to whisper a dirty thing in her ear to get her going.

It was then Elena realised she had been standing there staring at Damon for more then a few minutes. She quickly averted her eyes.

"I should probably go." Elena whispered.

Elena got two steps out of Damon's room before she found herself slung back into the room, her chest pressed against Damon's. Her heart raced at the surprise move.

"I think your boyfriend is up to something." Damon whispered. "I think that it has to do with me because he thinks I'm a threat. I'm not. I told you and I'll tell him. I'm done chasing you. He can have you. But if for one second Elena you _want_ to chase me then you should. If you're suddenly aware of what you're missing and you know I'm the choice you should make, then you should make it. Stefan, me, who ever. I just want you to be happy. I feel like that may not be with Stefan. I can accept that it may not be me. However I don't think Stefan can accept if it's not him. You need to fight for a choice, be it Stefan or whom ever."

"Why are you saying this?" Elena asked.

"Because you seem unhappy." Damon answered.

"I'm not." Elena lied.

"If you keep telling yourself that, maybe one day you might believe it. But if you want my advice, you need to start living for yourself. Trust me."

Damon let go of her arm. Elena quickly escaped the room and retreated back to Stefan's room. Her heart was racing. Was the fear? Anger? _Anticipation_? She had no idea. What she did know was that Stefan was lying to her. She knew that she had thoroughly enjoyed seeing Damon half naked. She also knew that his advice was good. Elena had lived a long time for other people. For her parents, for Jenna, for Jeremy. Always abiding by an unspoken rule to be the person she thought she had to be for whoever it might be. The perfect daughter for her parents, the helpful niece for her Aunt and the protective older sister for her brother.

Even though she didn't really know who she wanted or what she wanted she knew that Stefan probably wasn't it. It was not fair to him or herself to continue their relationship out of habit and normalcy. Did Elena even want normal anymore? What was normal? Damon had really put some food for thought into her.

* * *

A/N: I decided to post this update as I have a few things to say.

I first of all would like to thank all of you have reviewed on the last chapter. I thoroughly enjoy reading both constructive criticism and positive comments.

However I feel I need to address some things that I have been receiving comments on. I am truly sorry that some of you feel like there is no character development happening. Honestly I do try to write my best and I'm sorry that I have failed in that department.

I'm also sorry for those of you who are getting frustrated about me building angsty story lines without much detail. I guess my writing needs some work.

In regards to the momentous amount of comments I have received about this being a 'Delena' story and how can it be 'Delena' when they're not even together and have little to do with each other, here it is. Just because it is labelled 'Delena' it does not mean my story is going to be all rainbows and sunshine for Damon and Elena, nor does it mean they will end up together. Obviously it is my intention at the moment that they will end up together but I might change that or I might not. I never intended to write a love story where Damon and Elena are apart for two chapters and then get back together and stay together.

About the sire bond/confusion. Elena is not sired to Damon. I feel that after it was broken she is confused. Why? Well because she was so used to knowing exactly how she felt because she knew she wanted to make Damon happy and now she's not sure. She is confused between which brother she wants or loves and how she's supposed to feel about pretty much everything.

Elena's character. She's a bitch and like I stated in a previous chapter that was actually not my intention. I just found as I continued to write her it kept coming and I'm actually really disappointed in myself at how I've portrayed her. However it's not exactly something you can change dramatically mid-story.

Damon's character. Unfortunately this is another thing I feel I've failed on. I understand all your concerns about how he doesn't seem strong enough. This does get slightly better as chapters progress however probably not to the standard you are expecting.

When I decided to write this story my plan was to make it more angsty then my last 'Delena' story. 'Damon and Elena' was about their growing relationship and falling in love. This is not so much. I mean it is and it isn't. It's more about how the broken bond affects them and how Elena affects Damon and their relationship as friends or whatever. This is some romance in here.

Lastly if you actually looked at the story when you found it after searching for 'Delena' stories you might have noticed that there is actually three main characters listed. Damon, Elena and Stefan. This is because I still believe (even thought I detest 'Stelena') that Stefan will always be an important part of Elena. It would be unrealistic to write a story set in the time period that I have chosen where Stefan is not part of her life. I don't like to read stories where Stefan just up and disappeared or Elena doesn't care about him. For me, that is unrealistic.

I am sorry for the giant author's note but I really just wanted to explain a few things. Also, sorry for the things you feel I haven't succeeded in and if this makes you want to discontinue reading my story, I guess I can't stop you. All I can say is please hang in there and give me a chance.

Please review, follow and favourite and if you have any concerns feel free to let me know.


	19. Elena's Decision

Elena paced back and forth in her bedroom. After her talk with Damon yesterday it had been clear to Elena (finally) what choice she had to make. Or at least what choice she should make for now. It was not fair for Elena to pretend to be in love with Stefan when she wasn't sure she was. Stefan clearly loved her and wanted nothing more than to be with her but Elena wasn't sure she felt the same anymore. The normalcy of familiarity of the relationship had been what pulled Elena back in after the sire bond had been broken. Her whole life had been torn upside down and she had been so confused. She hoped being with Stefan would have made her feel like her self but it didn't, it left her worn out from pretending.

Not only did she no longer think she felt the same about Stefan anymore but now Elena was beginning to feel like Stefan wasn't the same person he was before the sire bond either. Lately he had been hiding things from her and lying straight to her face. Elena had no idea what he was trying to hide and for the most part she didn't care what it was. The only thing she cared about was that Stefan was not supposed to lie to her. Stefan seemed so different to what he had been before her vampirism. He seemed always on edge and more aware of what a monster she could become. He made every effort to sway her onto his righteous path of an all animal diet and although Elena thought it was sweet he cared so much about her mental health she knew that animal blood just wasn't for her.

It didn't matter to Stefan though. He wanted her to feed like him and to act every bit the way she had when she was human. But she wasn't anymore and it was beginning to annoy her that he was trying to hard to make it seem like she hadn't changed. Over night (after her talk with Damon) Elena had become more aware of who she was supposed to be or at least who she _wanted_ to be. She didn't want to end up a monster on a killing spree but nor did she think she was the same completely compassionate person she had always been. She felt more dangerous, more alive. Parts of her human personality were still there but other parts had been added.

She was starting to get nervous. Elena had called Stefan not too long ago asking him to come over. They needed to talk and Elena knew they couldn't do that at the boarding house with Damon around. Lucky for Elena Jeremy had offered to go out for awhile so she could sit down and talk with Stefan. She had found a confidante in her brother recently, after all he was just about the only person who truly had her best interests at heart. Jeremy just wanted Elena to be happy. _Just keep calm, remember all the reasons you're doing this_, Elena reminded herself.

The front door creaked open and Elena's heart started to race. She heard Stefan's footsteps climbing the stairs and before she knew it he was standing before her. His face was gentle and kind and Elena knew this was going to be hell. She never wanted to hurt Stefan but she supposed she was already doing that if she didn't know whether she wanted to be with him anymore. Stefan is kind and understanding and he will get where she's coming from. That's what Elena wanted to believe.

"Hi." He greeted her.

"Hey." Elena replied.

Stefan walked into her bedroom without a second thought. Elena could tell by his body language that he had no idea what was about to happen.

"Where's Jeremy?" Stefan asked.

"He went out for a little bit." Elena answered.

She watched as Stefan took a couple of steps around the room.

"Stefan we need to talk." Elena said, breaking the silence.

"Okay. What about? Is Damon harassing you?" He questioned.

"No. It's not that. It's about us." Elena told him.

Elena noticed the change in his stature. He seemed to go from confident and kind to passive-aggressive. This was not how she expected him to behave. Last time they broke up (before she had slept with Damon) Stefan had been nothing but understanding towards the situation. Somehow Elena figured out this was going to be different.

"I don't think we can be together anymore…I mean right now." Elena whispered.

"Why? What's happened?" Stefan asked, taking an aggressive stance.

"Nothing Stefan. It's me. It's totally me. You've done nothing." That wasn't completely true. "Just after everything that's happened I'm not sure this is right for me. I just need some time to think. Time to myself. So much has changed in me and you and us."

"Changed? Nothing has changed Elena. You're still you, I'm still me. I don't understand." Stefan said.

"_I've_ changed Stefan. Whether you want to believe that or not, I have. When I turned I wanted to be me and I tried so hard…then there was the sire bond and after Damon broke it I lost who I was. I had no idea how I was supposed to act or what I was supposed to do. It was really confusing for me. I don't expect you to completely understand what I went through. But it was hard. I've only just recently realised that I was trying to make everything the way it was before I turned but I don't think that was the right way to go about things." Elena replied. "It's not fair to you if I pretend like everything is okay between us when I know it's not. I'm not sure whether I'm in love with you Stefan. I don't say that to hurt you, I say it because it's the truth and I want to be honest with you."

"But _I'm_ in love with _you_." Stefan told her.

"I'm not sure I feel the same. I can't be in this relationship not knowing if I feel the same. Damon said something to me yesterday and it made me think. I want to be happy. If that's with you then that will be good, but if it's not then I'm sorry. But I need to figure that out, without being in this relationship right now."

Stefan took a fierce step towards Elena. It was kind of startling to Elena to see him like that towards her. She had seen him angry at plenty of people but not usually her.

"So this is about Damon!?" Stefan yelled.

"No, Stefan it's not! I promise. This is about me." Elena replied.

"But _Damon_ made you realise that?" Stefan asked.

"Yes."

"You're still sired to him. I knew it. I should never have brought him back to Mystic Falls. There was a reason I told him to leave!" Stefan yelled, more so to himself then Elena.

Elena couldn't believe what she had heard. Of course she knew that Damon had left after the bond was broken but she had assumed that was more for him then Stefan telling him he had to.

"What?" Elena asked.

"I should have let Klaus kill him instead of me trying to do the right thing by him. Or I should have tried helping him somewhere else. It was stupid of me to think you'd never know he was down in the cellar." Stefan said.

"Stefan are you hearing yourself? I can't believe what you just said. This is getting out of hand. You need to leave." Elena told him.

Stefan stalked past her but stopped just as he got out of the doorway.

"Damon had no business giving you advice about your life Elena. You love me and I know that. I'm going to figure out a way to break this bond once and for all." Stefan told her right before he sped out of her house.

The conversation had left Elena startled and afraid for what was going to happen. She wasn't sired to Damon still. She hadn't felt like she _needed_ to take Damon's advice, she had _wanted_ to take Damon's advice. She knew what it felt like to have to do something because Damon said so and this wasn't it. Stefan had gone mad. He was completely crazy at this point.

* * *

A/N: Thank you once again for the overwhelming response in reviews. I honestly take to heart every piece of feedback you all give me and try to improve my story on the feedback I receive. I always welcome constructive criticism and absolutely love hearing your theories on how my story will progress :)

Unfortunately due to the fact that I tend to write my stories multiple chapters ahead (bad habit I know! But if I didn't you seriously wouldn't get updates as often) I can't change character behaviours/plot points/character development. But all your advice and feedback just helps me improve on later chapters or for my next story.

Oh and also just a little note that Elena is NOT sired to Damon still, I can see that I might get some questions on that after this chapter so...

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	20. Brotherly Quarrels

Damon fingered the short blonde locks of his companion for the evening. Heather had become quite the acquaintance lately if Damon was being honest with himself. She was fiery and breathtakingly honest, a woman who had no complications. That was what Damon liked about her most. Heather was not the 18 year old Katherine doppleganger who was in love with Stefan but who Damon was in love with. She was not being chased by thousand year old vampires. Everything about Heather was easy. Damon smirked at that thought. They had fucked in just about every place in his room over the past 24 hours.

After Damon had given some shocking advice to Elena the day before Damon had wanted nothing more than to have her gone from his thoughts. The best way he knew how. Heather had arrived not long after that and, well you know how it goes.

Why couldn't Damon love a girl like Heather? Why wasn't he the type of a guy to see his brother's girl and think 'oh she's my brother's girl' and just leave? He had no clue. He wanted to be the guy who fell for women who were much more carefree like himself. He needed someone like that. Someone to challenge him and keep him alive when he was just about anything but. As he looked at Heather he wondered why he couldn't feel that way about _her? _She was beautiful and witty and feisty, the type of girl Damon liked for quick fucks and one night stands. Maybe if he stood any chance at believing himself when he told Elena he was done chasing her, he would have to move on.

"You know, you're devastatingly handsome when you're deep in thought." Heather whispered, sinking deeper into the tub.

Damon relished in the feeling of the warm water lapping at his chest as Heather sank deeper into the water.

"Am I? Now, here I thought I was just plain handsome when deep in thought." Damon joked, sipping on his glass of blood.

Heather splashed water at Damon playfully in retaliation to his smugness.

"Still thinking about _Elena_?" Heather asked.

"Elena? What makes you think I'm thinking about her? I told you, I'm done with Elena." Damon said.

"Just because you keep saying that doesn't make it any more true Damon." Heather replied.

"It is true. I'm done waiting on the sidelines. I'm taking applications for a new woman in my life." Damon smirked.

"Is that so? And what are the requirements might I ask?"

"Well she has to be sexy of course." Damon looked Heather up and down and wiggled his eyebrows. "Nice ass, stellar personality…oh and good in bed."

Heather seemed to contemplate his requirements.

"I think I fit all those boxes. Don't you?" Heather whispered seductively.

Damon needn't answer. Instead he leaned in and took her face in his hands and kissed her. She reciprocated the kiss without hesitation, which Damon thought was a plus. He was so used to kissing Elena and having it not returned on most occasions. It was nice for a change to kiss someone who wanted to kiss him back.

Without warning Damon was suddenly ripped out of the tub and thrown against the wall. He came crashing down in a heap, completely taken by surprise. It took him a moment to regain his focus but once he did he had no idea what was going on. Standing before him with teeth baring and a fierce stance was his brother, Stefan.

"Stefan what the hell?" Damon asked, standing up.

Stefan pounced on Damon knocking him back to the ground once again. Damon this time retaliated quicker. He punched Stefan square in the jaw sending him flying across the room and destroying one of Damon's favourite pieces of furniture.

"I'm going to kill you!" Stefan yelled as he raced back to Damon who was ready for a fight.

Damon received a punch to the face and several punches to the gut before he had a chance to fight back. But when he did he took Stefan and flung him out the window of Damon's bedroom. Damon grabbed a pair of pants from the end of his bed and quickly threw them on before jumping out the window to attack Stefan. Stefan was only just getting up by the time Damon had reached the ground so Damon forced him back to the ground, Stefan's chest against the grass.

"What is going on brother? Why the sudden hate?" Damon growled, pulling Stefan's arm behind his back.

"Why can't you leave her alone!? Huh!? What is so wrong with you that you have to keep fucking things up!" Stefan growled.

Stefan managed to get the upper hand for a moment and spun their position so Damon was pinned beneath him.

"I have no idea what the fuck you're on about!" Damon yelled.

"The little talk you had with her?" Stefan said, his hand around Damon's throat. "She dumped me. Because of you. Because you can't keep away from my fucking girlfriend!"

Stefan applied more pressure to Damon's throat. Damon managed to just push Stefan away long enough to get a few breaths in. But it wasn't long before Stefan was grabbing Damon again. Only this time he was armed. Stefan pierced Damon through the stomach with a branch. Damon fell to his knees in intense agony.

"She's mine." Stefan growled forcing the branch in further.

Damon coughed as the sharp bits of wood penetrated his insides.

"You don't deserve her. _I_ deserve her." Stefan said.

Damon could feel splinters of the wood travelling closer to his heart. "Stefan…please." Damon choked out.

Damon's cries were heard but not by Stefan. He watched as Heather flung Stefan across the grassed area with ease. She was easily a few hundred years older than them both. Heather ripped the branch from Damon's stomach without a second thought and helped him to his feet. Stefan came running back with a vengeance ready to take on Heather and Damon.

"Don't even think about it." Heather warned as he got closer. "I am older than you. I will rip your heart out before you can say another word."

"Get out of my way. Damon can fight his own battles." Stefan spat.

"I will not get out of your way. This is ridiculous. You're over a century and a half years old and you're fighting like you're 16. She's _just_ a girl. You can't make her love you. If she dumped you that's on her, not on Damon. Is she here? No. I'm here. I'm with Damon. She's probably out conning the next set of vampires to fall head over heels in love with her. Blame the girl, not your brother." Heather said.

Stefan did not take the speech well but decided he was better off leaving this fight then trying to fight them both. Damon watched as Stefan disappeared into the night. He walked back into the boarding house with Heather and followed her up the stairs.

"Oh man. Now I'm going to have to replace that window." Damon complained.

"I totally saved your ass." Heather laughed.

"Stefan wasn't _really_ going to kill me. Do you know how many times we've threatened to kill each other? More times then I can count. He was going to make me suffer and then tell me some bullshit about sparing my life and blah blah blah." Damon shrugged.

"He was _totally_ going to kill you."

Heather undid the robe that she had tied around her body to venture outside, revealing her naked body. Damon smirked as she dropped the robe to the floor.

"Now where were we?" She asked with a seductive smile on her face.

As Damon made his way over to her he really did wonder _why not Heather_?

* * *

A/N: Once again thank you for all the kind words of encouragement. I actually just finished writing the last chapter for this story. So hopefully you'll be getting a steady stream of updates.

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	21. We Need To Talk

"So where's Stefan?" Caroline asked, sipping her drink and scanning the room full of tipsy adults.

Elena dreaded the question. Here she was at another Mystic Falls founder's day events. Only she was alone. Not that she minded that much that she had no date. In fact it was kind of nice for once not to be worrying about anyone but herself. But because everyone was so used to seeing her with Stefan, Caroline had not been the first to ask about his absence. Anyway, Elena had expected to see him whether or not he was her date. After all he was a founding family and even at times where they weren't getting along so well he always turned up.

"We broke up." Elena stated.

The answer took Caroline by complete surprise, that Elena could tell. Caroline's mouth dropped and she placed her glass on the nearby table.

"What!?" Caroline questioned.

"I broke up with him last week. I need some time to myself. Plus, he's been acting really strange lately haven't you noticed?" Elena said.

"Elena…don't you think this was information you could have shared with me…I don't know before we got here? I was at your house getting ready for over an hour." Caroline complained.

Elena was mildly annoyed at Caroline's complaint. It wasn't that she didn't want anyone to know, it was more that she didn't feel like talking about it. Most people thought Stefan and her were meant to be and that was fine. But Caroline was absolutely sure Stefan and Elena were meant to be, that meant she was more than willing to play match maker even when it wasn't needed. The news of their breakup was of course going to upset Caroline and that would bring questions of _why_ which Elena had answers to but didn't feel like explaining.

"I didn't think it was that important." Elena shrugged.

"You didn't think it was _that_ important? Elena you and Stefan are soul mates. When my best friend and her boyfriend who also happens to be my friend break up, I need to know." Caroline told her.

If there was ever a time Elena wanted something to interrupt a conversation it was right then. She had no obligation to anyone about her break up but especially Caroline. She was extremely one-sided when it came to Elena's love life. Stefan or no one. Especially not Damon. It wasn't like Elena was considering Damon as a potential lover, or at least not right now but if in the future she wanted the option she wanted a friend who wasn't so pro-Stefan. She loved Stefan, she really did. Maybe she wasn't in love with him anymore but that didn't mean she didn't care for him. But she felt like Stefan wasn't her right now…maybe a later on or a in the future but that was something she was going to figure out…in time.

Aside from Matt, Elena had only ever dated Stefan. She was 18 years old and had only ever had two boyfriends. Didn't she deserve some sort of life? What if she went off to college and fell in love with a completely normal guy? That was possible wasn't it? It was a possibility and that's all Elena was asking for. Stefan didn't feel right at that moment and Elena didn't want to be obliged to be with someone because everyone else thought that's what should be.

"Is this a sire bond thing?" Caroline asked, grabbing Elena's arm and turning her to face her.

"What? Are you insane?" Elena scoffed. "I'm not sired anymore."

"Are you sure? You've been acting kind of weird." Caroline argued.

"Care, from the moment I turned I was not in control of myself. Every thought and action was marred by my bond to Damon. I'm free of that now. I'm going to be different. I'm not human anymore. You changed when you turned didn't you? Am I not allowed to change? I'm just trying to find myself and I think I need to do that without Stefan…for now. If at some point I want to be with Stefan and he still wants to be with me then it'll happen." Elena told Caroline.

Elena watched as Caroline processed the information. After a few silent moments Caroline shrugged her shoulders and picked her drink back up. Elena was glad the conversation was over. She had no idea what else she could say to convince Caroline that she wasn't sired. In the corner of her eye Elena spotted Klaus chatting to a party guest, she could see Caroline's posture change the moment she noticed too. As much as Caroline denied it Elena knew she was attracted to Klaus.

Klaus was dressed in an impeccable suit, dashing as always. His charm and wit seemed to entrance every lady in the room, including Caroline. It was funny to Elena how Caroline continuously disapproved of her once friendship/relationship with Damon but acted like her flirting with the prince of darkness wasn't an issue. Truth be told Elena didn't have _that_ big of a problem with Caroline's secret affections for Klaus. He was an evil, manipulative, arrogant jerk who had killed people that Elena and Caroline both knew and loved but Elena knew that if it came down to it he would never hurt Caroline. Of course Elena would not hope for them to be together, Tyler made a wonderful boyfriend who took care of Caroline but if by some miracle Caroline admitted to herself how she felt about Klaus and they ended up together Elena wouldn't be the giant scowling friend in the corner disapproving of the relationship. She guessed she was more flexible then her friends.

It wasn't long before Klaus noticed both the girls and came sauntering over. Caroline quickly flitted her hair over her shoulder and replaced her smiling face with a bored one. She liked to pretend Klaus didn't do things to her insides but Elena knew different. He took Elena's hand and kissed the top of it, his lips grazing her perfect olive skin. Then he took Caroline's and repeated the action only he lingered longer on her skin.

"Evening ladies. You both look radiant." Klaus greeted them.

"And you look like a murderous asshole." Caroline chimed.

Klaus gritted his teeth and flashed Caroline a tight smile.

"Always so charming." Klaus said. "Elena, I see Stefan is missing from tonight's event."

"Yes." Elena replied.

"Things not well between you two I'm guessing?" Klaus mused.

"Not that you care but we broke up." Elena responded.

"Mutually?" Klaus questioned.

"No. I broke up with him." Elena told him.

Klaus gave a knowing smirk that Elena couldn't decipher. She knew something was up but could not place whatever it was. Klaus obviously knew something she did not but there was no point trying to get it out of him.

As the conversation between the three of them died their attentions shifted towards the entrance where Damon stood with Heather. Elena looked her up and down and couldn't deny she was breathtaking in the off the shoulder royal blue chiffon gown. But what was Damon doing here with her? This was the third time Elena was seeing Damon with this woman. Was he dating her now? Damon didn't date. He had casual hook ups, woman who he used for blood and sex. Maybe Heather was just sex, she was after all another vampire. Elena couldn't imagine Damon being monogamous to anyone, especially some woman he barely knew.

"Who's the blonde skank with Damon?" Caroline asked.

"Her name is Heather…I met her a few weeks ago at the boarding house." Elena revealed.

"So Damon's finally replaced Andy Starr." Caroline said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Actually, she's a vampire." Elena replied.

Klaus seemed amused by Elena's revelation. Damon entered the room with Heather on his arm, gliding across the floor like they were floating. Elena felt a pang of jealousy coarse through her body as everyone took in the glorious couple. They were a bit like night and day Elena thought to herself. Damon with his dark hair and his dangerous eyes and Heather with her blonde bob and friendly demeanour. Of course Elena didn't know Damon's companion from a bar of soap but she had some theories. She was probably sexually adventurous, that was definitely Damon's type. A woman who flirted a lot and drank a lot. Elena had to wonder why she had put so much thought into that.

"Hello." Damon greeted the three of them. Heather this is Caroline, Klaus and of course you know _Elena_."

Elena wasn't sure but she felt like he enunciated her name more than Caroline's or Klaus'. Heather and Damon seemed to share a private moment at the expense of her name.

"Pleasure to meet you both." Heather smiled.

"The pleasure is all mine." Klaus charmed.

Elena watched Caroline take more than a little interest as Klaus placed a kiss on Heather's hand. It was clear to everyone at the party that Heather was here with Damon and Damon alone but Caroline had clearly not gotten the memo. Elena could just imagine the internal commentary running through Caroline's head.

"So where do you hail from, Heather? Not from around here, I can tell." Klaus asked.

Damon snatched two champagne glasses from a passing tray and gave one to his date and reserved one for his self. Elena found herself annoyed that he hadn't offered her one also. Was that now a thing of the past?

"New York actually. I've travelled a bit. But I was originally from New York." Heather replied, sipping her champagne.

Elena caught Damon's eyes as she lifted her gaze from the floor, he was looking at her like he was questioning something. He glanced around the room a few times searching for something, Elena had no idea.

"Elena, where is my delightful brother tonight?" Damon asked.

Both Klaus and Caroline gave each other a knowing glance.

"I broke up with him." Elena said, so matter-of-factly that it seemed to take her companions by surprise.

She had no idea why before when asked about Stefan she had answered 'we broke up' but now, when asked by Damon she felt the need to say 'I broke up with him'. It seemed odd to her that she needed for him to hear that and her tone wasn't all that familiar to her either.

"Yes, I knew that. Stefan and I had…an altercation last week because of it. I haven't seen him since. I had assumed you two made up and he was staying with you." Damon said.

"You had a fight with Stefan?" Elena asked.

"I wouldn't say that. Not so much as I would say that Stefan _attacked_ me." Damon revealed.

Caroline scoffed loudly but both Elena and Damon ignored her.

"Why would he attack you?" Elena questioned, not wanting to believe Stefan would do that.

"He seems to be under the impression that his misery is because of me. All I know is one minute I'm enjoying an _intimate_ bath with Heather," Damon gave his companion a smirk, "and the next my dear brother is trying to stake me with a tree branch."

No one had noticed but Klaus had disappeared. It wasn't that big a deal Elena thought to herself, this didn't concern him.

"I don't believe you." Elena firmly said.

Heather placed a hand on Elena's bare arm and with an annoyingly sickly sweet voice said, "Oh honey, believe it. I had to pull them apart."

It annoyed Elena to no end that this woman who barely knew Damon let alone Stefan thought she had a right to not only break apart a fight between the two always warring brothers but also interrupt a conversation she was not in on. Elena tried to rationalise the fight in her head, they always fought. Proclaiming to kill the other only to spare their life. It happened all the time.

"Anyway, he disappeared after Heather pulled him off of me." Damon shrugged.

"And you didn't think to call around and see where he was after he didn't come home?" Elena retorted, growing angry.

"Elena, he's a hundred and sixty something years old. I think he can take care of himself." Damon laughed.

Damon's attitude was unacceptable to Elena. Stefan hadn't been seen for over a week. No one knew where he was. Elena wanted answers and usually Damon did too.

"We need to look for him." Elena said, looking to Caroline for help.

"Elena, listen! Stefan is fine. He's off being broody somewhere. He'll come home when he's stopped sooking." Damon told her.

"And what if he's not, Damon? What if he's hurt or worse…can you live with yourself if that happens?" Elena asked.

Heather scoffed and shook her head. Elena tried not to notice but it was hard considering how much noise she was making. But she was adamant on not letting Heather join in the conversation. This was a thing between her and Damon and Caroline. Klaus, Tyler, Bonnie, Matt…hell even Rebekah would be more welcome to this conversation then Damon's new sex toy. But despite what Elena thought and wanted Heather still had an opinion.

"You broke his heart. The guy probably just wants some time to himself. And I'm sure that you're probably the very last person on Earth he wants to see right now." Heather told Elena.

"Excuse me? You know nothing about either of the Salvatore's so why don't you shut your mouth." Elena responded.

"I know enough!" Heather said. "I know that both of them have gone above and beyond to keep you alive and you play them like a piano."

Elena was almost at her breaking point. She knew she would not be able to take a vampire much older than her but it wouldn't stop her from trying, after all Damon and at the very least Caroline would not let anything happen to her.

"You don't know anything! You think you know Damon because you're fucking him? Let me tell you something you monstrous _bitch_, you're just another boredom buster for Damon. A way to pass time." Elena spat.

They were making a scene and both Caroline and Damon knew. People were starting to stare. Heather took a few close steps to Elena, her vampire eyes showing. Elena was fearful but was grateful for Caroline's presence.

"I'd be careful. I'm not so consumed by keeping you alive." Heather whispered.

"You're threatening me? In a room _full_ of vampires and werewolves who will protect me. Including an original." Elena said smugly.

It was at this time that Damon decided to interject. "_Oookaay_. Elena, could I speak with you upstairs?"

Damon forcefully grabbed Elena's arm and led her towards the staircase. People had started returning to their mundane conversations and their cheap wine.

* * *

A/N: Hello all you lovely readers! I actually had quite a good response from the last chapter and that put me in good spirits. So hopefully for this chapter I'll get just as good of a reaction! I'm glad most of you are starting to enjoy Heather, I tried to make her likeable and a strong character.

Regarding the end of this story, I've had a question or two about the two-endings possibility. Now that I've finished this I can safely say there is ONE ending. Although You could easily stop reading after the second last chapter if that ending would suit you more. I guess in a way it is kind of a double ending, but for me there was only one way I wanted to finish this story. But, you will all have to wait and see what happens when it happens.

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	22. The Ever Burning Question

Damon didn't let his tight grip on Elena's forearm falter for one moment. He was furious at her as he dragged her up the staircase. How dare she threaten his…(what was Heather to Damon? Girlfriend, companion, acquaintance?) _friend_ and act so smugly about how all those people would protect her. He sure as hell won't be anymore. That was a lie. Damon knew if push came to shove and Elena was in trouble he'd be there. But right now he wanted to pretend like he wouldn't, not now, not ever. She had acted like a massive bitch to Heather and that was uncalled for. Heather had done nothing to Elena, not one thing. What was Elena's deal? So what if Heather didn't know Stefan or him that well. She knew enough. She knew both of them had fallen for Elena and she knew that Elena had always (before the sire bond) chosen Stefan. He had revealed most of his treacherous past with Elena without making him seem like some pathetic loser of course. She knew what she needed to know.

He pushed Elena into the closest room to the top of the stairs and closed the door behind them. He wanted not to notice how beautiful she looked but he couldn't help it. She was fiery looking in a strapless floor length red dress that hugged her curves and had a drop waist, not to mention the ample cleavage Elena was showing. It wasn't a dress Damon ever expected Elena to wear, she was usually more conservative than that. Although now that she was single maybe she was on the prowl for a new set of vampires to play off of each other just like Heather had suggested. Damon shook his head visibly, that wasn't Elena. At least not the Elena he knew. As furious as he was at her Damon knew what type of person she was and that wasn't who she was.

Elena folded her arms harshly across her chest looking ever the petulant child she sometimes acted like. She was a stubborn woman which had been one of the many things Damon had once really enjoyed about her. He had liked her independent attitude and how adorable she was when she was being stubborn. But tonight he had no mushy feelings attached to her unfamiliar attitude. This was not okay with him. Was she jealous? Angry? She sure seemed like it, at least to Damon. Was he not allowed to move on with his life now that he had proclaimed he was over her? He wasn't sure that was exactly what he was doing, but if he was, did she have a problem with that?

Heather was not just some random sorority girl he had picked up for a quick fuck. Okay, maybe at first she had been. Not the sorority girl part of course. But Heather had been some woman at a bar he had met and had every intention of fucking and never seeing again. But she had turned out to be a nice companion to his loneliness. They talked and fucked and laughed and it was a nice change for always being alone or having conversations with half-wit cheerleaders.

"Your whore needs to know her place." Elena said, interrupting Damon's thoughts.

"Excuse me?" Damon said, whipping his head around to face her.

"Sorry, _Heather_ needs to know her place. She has no right to act like she knows anything about me, you or Stefan and our relationships. She's known you for what? All of two weeks." Elena snorted.

Damon let out a heavy breath, he was quickly losing his calm which didn't happen all that often around Elena. He was usually able to keep himself in check around her, but then again she had never acted this way towards him.

"Heather was doing nothing wrong. I've told her about the situation and she _was_ there when Stefan tried to kill me." Damon told her.

"Stefan would not try to kill you! You and him fight all the time and 'pretend' like you're going to kill each other." Elena exclaimed.

"Elena you weren't there. He was really angry. If Heather wasn't there…I don't know if I'd be standing here." Damon confessed.

It wasn't the first time this thought had occurred to him. At first Damon had dismissed the incident as yet another one of their infamous brotherly fights. Stefan had pushed a branch through Damon's chest, so what? Damon had done plenty of similar things to Stefan over time. They had almost killed each other probably a hundred times. But as the days went by Damon kept picturing the incident and picturing the look in Stefan's eyes. It was like none he had ever seen. Stefan had been out of control, completely crazy and blind with rage. He had truly looked like he wanted to kill him and probably would have easily succeeded had Heather not been there.

"You're overreacting. Of course he'd be mad. Stefan thinks I'm still sired to you. He was blowing off steam." Elena huffed, still convinced Stefan hadn't planned to murder Damon.

Damon found no point in arguing with her any longer. That was not the point of taking her upstairs. He wanted to set her straight and get down to why Elena was acting like a colossal bitch.

"That doesn't matter. That's not why I wanted to talk to you." Damon shook his head.

"Then what?" Elena asked.

"That downstairs was not acceptable Elena. You made a gigantic scene in front of a lot of people who are clueless about supernatural beings. Threatening a couple hundred year old vampire? Are you insane?" Damon questioned.

Elena all but laughed in his face. She looked truly bemused by his question. Of course she was insane, Damon thought to himself. She took herself to be sacrificed and had more than one time offered herself up in order to save the people she loved. She was insane, that Damon was sure. But this behaviour was strange.

"You would have protected me." Elena said once she had stopped laughing.

Damon furrowed his brows. It was at that point he realised how bratty she sounded. Like the entire world revolved around her. Like it would stop if she was in trouble. Which for the most part had been true. Everyone around her had been dropping everything to save her countless times before, why not once more? Well, no more for Damon. Even though he had said he would continue to save her when she needed saving he wasn't sure he could. This was just reckless, threatening a vampire who could have snapped her neck in less than a second and tore out her heart? Reckless, completely reckless.

Elena's words continued to repeat in his head. _You would have protected me_. They were soft and sweet and words which once would have touched his heart, now only angered him. She thought of him like that. Someone who she could toy around but would always be there to protect her when she needed him.

"No. I wouldn't have." Damon whispered.

The look on Elena's face was that of complete shock and disbelief.

"What?" Elena replied.

"I can't. Not anymore. Do you realise how you sounded down there? You sounded like a stuck up bitch. Like _Katherine_." Damon told her.

"Don't you dare compare me to her, Damon!" Elena screeched.

"Why? Because you know it's true? You were snotty and rude and acted like everyone would drop to their knees if you asked. Katherine was like that. Completely self-absorbed and confident in the fact that everyone worshipped her. Is that how you see yourself, Elena?" Damon asked.

"I…I'm not like Katherine. I don't…I don't think people worship me Damon. But you would protect me. I know you would." Elena said, her eyes growing teary.

"No, I wouldn't. Not anymore." Damon replied.

Damon turned to leave. He was done with this conversation and done with Elena. Maybe he would leave Mystic Falls. This town had served it's purpose. He had come looking for Katherine. Oh boy had he found her, only her name was Elena. Maybe he'd ask Heather to leave with him and they'd venture new towns. It'd be nice to travel with a companion instead of always being alone. His hand gripped the doorknob but before he turned the handle to open the door Elena's body was in front of it, stuck between his body and the door. Damon gasped at the surprise invasion into his personal space.

"Elena, move." He warned.

"No." Elena whispered.

"What are you even doing!? Why are you doing this!?" Damon yelled, removing his hand from the doorknob and slamming his fist beside her head and into the door.

Elena physically flinched at the fierce act.

"I don't want you to leave when you're this angry at me. Please Damon." Elena pleaded.

"I don't know what you want from me." Damon told her.

Damon's hands rested either side of her shoulders, essentially pinning her between him and the door with no escape. Her breathing was heavy like she was scared or nervous. Damon wanted not to find her sexually appealing in that moment because he was so enraged at her behaviour but he could not help himself. She was undeniably breath taking. Her skin was inviting, tempting him to taste it, to lick it and mark it with his mouth. The heat of her body radiating off of her warmed his own body. He wanted to taste her, to dip down and capture her luscious lips in his own and devour her like a delicious dessert.

"I'm sorry." Elena said through a hushed voice.

Elena's hands reached up to take Damon's face. It was a move Damon was not expecting but didn't exactly tell her not to when she did. In fact he kind of welcomed the softness of her petite fingers as they caressed his cheeks. It was sucking him back in and he hated it. He had been trying to convince himself for weeks he was over her and he thought he had. He thought he was done being a slave to his own heart, but how wrong he had been. That familiar fluttering of emotions flitted about in his chest. Heather didn't excite him like Elena did. Of course she excited him plenty in the bedroom but that wasn't the feeling Damon was talking about. Elena excited him emotionally. Hell, she exhausted him too but that was kind of what love was in Damon's eyes. All consuming, the good, the bad, the ugly.

Damon let his face fall to beside hers, breathing in the familiar smell of her shampoo. Her hair tickled his cheek as Elena's hands steadied on his waist. Fight the urge. Fight the urge. Take control. He was struggling with an internal battle on whether he should fuck her mercilessly without regret or leave her without another word. God, he wanted to be in her. To feel the warmth of her wrapped around him once more. Their affair had been so short lived the first time that he had _almost_ forgotten what it was like to have her. _Almost_. Because she was pretty unforgettable. Those kisses, those touches. Damon was quickly remembering their tryst.

He nudged her hair away from her neck with his nose, refusing to remove his hands from the door for fear he might not otherwise be able to control them. He placed one soft, barely there kiss to the flesh beneath her ear lobe. A tender moment he wished he could entirely enjoy. Parts of him were at war. Leave. Stay. Leave. Stay. Leavestayleavestay. Elena took a sharp breath in as she felt Damon's lips graze her neck. Damon placed another further down her neck, only this time he made sure she would feel it. Another and another. He was nibbling her skin, biting softly and sucking the flesh to make swollen bruises that quickly disappeared.

He felt Elena's hands start to claw at his suit, seeking permission to go beneath his two hundred dollar shirt. Damon wanted desperately to tell her no, to not want to feel the softness of her hands travel up his torso or the sharpness of her nails rake down his back. But he found no strength inside him to stop her. Elena pulled the shirt from his pants, her hands finally making contact with the bare skin of his abdomen. Somehow she felt different than Heather, her hands softer, her nails sharper. Maybe she was no different. Damon didn't know, he could not soundly make that call at that moment.

As her hands travelled up his torso Damon's mouth travelled to her clavicle. Elena's neck craned to give him access to every part he seeked access to. Finally unable to keep his hands firmly against the door he grabbed her hips with both hands and forced her pelvis roughly into his own. Elena gasped at the contact between them, Damon quickly capturing her gasp in his mouth with a fierce, passion filled kiss. Elena quickly returned her affections, delving her tongue into Damon's mouth to wage a war of who was more dominant. A war Damon was determined to win. He slid a hand up the back of her dress, desperately looking for the zipper. He found it seconds later and slid the metal zip down her back. As soon as Damon dropped the zip Elena's dress slid down her body to reveal her in a set of lacy red lingerie.

Damon had to close his eyes for a moment, fearful of how much longer he could take this. His self-respect was slowly dissipating but he had enough to continue to tell him how degrading this was to his ego. He felt like a puppy dog. That feeling surpassed quickly as Elena made quick work of the buttons on his shirt, afterwards sliding both his jacket and shirt to the floor without a second thought. She re-attached her mouth to Damon's as he pulled her backwards with him, searching for a surface to steady themselves on. Only finding a writing desk in the process Damon picked her up with ease and dropped her ass onto the cold mahogany.

If Elena felt the temperature difference she sure didn't show it. Her fingers toyed with the button on his pants, Damon growing quickly impatient and removing his pants for her. He no longer cared what this would do for his ego or his self-respect. There was no longer an internal fight on whether he should jump her bones or leave her hot and bothered. Elena had won. Damon wasn't going to walk away from this situation. How could he? His perfect girl, the girl he had lusted after for so long now was perched on a desk, hair mussed, lips swollen and only in a matching pair of red underwear. If he walked away (which he wasn't going to do) he was sure he would not be able to live with himself.

He grabbed roughly at one of her breasts through her bra and kneaded it, pinching her nipple between his fingers. Elena's mouth made sweet cries of pleasure that Damon loved to hear. Damon's attention was quickly removed from her breast when he felt her hand rubbing his dick through his underwear. Her tiny palm pressing firmly against his hardened member Damon was finding it hard to concentrate on anything else. She dove a hand in his underwear and when Damon felt the coolness of her hand wrap around him he knew he had to fuck her now. He ripped her hand from him and with vampiric speed spun her around so her chest was pressed against the wood and she was bent over.

At this point Damon had no self control, he mercilessly ripped her panties from her body and threw them across the room. His vampire face had appeared, he was unstoppable. Elena didn't seem to mind. She spread her legs willingly as Damon positioned himself between the legs. Damon thrusted inside her with one motion, not caring to be gentle. Elena let out a pleasured cry, her nails making half-moon marks in the desk as she gripped tightly. Damon took hold of her waist with both hands and began to fuck her.

Her warmth consumed him. Her tightness making it almost impossible to fuck her. Her walls gripped him tighter with each skilled move. Forcefully Damon took her hair and gathered it into a ponytail with one hand and pulled her head up. Nice was not an option, he was far too angry for that. Elena scowled in his direction but Damon knew she liked it. Anchoring himself with her hair Damon began pounding her harder than before, reaching places inside her Damon was sure Elena had never felt before.

Damon began to feel his orgasm fast approaching. Hoping to bring Elena with him he reached beneath her and stimulated her clit, rubbing the sensitive nub with his years of expertise. Elena bit down on her lips harshly to stop herself from being too loud, Damon's skilled thrusts and hands starting to become too much for her. As his high started to climb Damon pulled roughly on her pony tail so she was looking at him.

"Cum with me." Damon growled.

Elena quickly catapulted into a silent orgasm, which spurred Damon on and he soon spilled his seed inside her. Once he had completely finished and had started to soften Damon collapsed to the floor bringing Elena with him. She laid beside him heaving for air.

"I remembered what that felt like but that was so much better." Elena sighed, running a lazy hand through her messy hair.

Damon turned his head to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"After you broke the bond I was really confused about everything. I didn't know how to act or feel. I remembered everything I did but couldn't remember how I felt. The other week when you gave me that advice, it kind of reinstated that I needed to think for myself." Elena said.

"Is that why you broke up with Stefan?" Damon questioned.

"That and…well you know, the ever burning question on everyone's mind. Stefan…or you." Elena said.

Damon could feel his heart flutter. Even though he had tried desperately to forget about Elena and all the feelings that went along with her he knew that he still loved her. He was still completely furious at her behaviour downstairs but the tryst had only reminded him of how he felt about her. As much as he tried and wanted to deny it he loved her. Was this his happy ending? Was he about to get the I love you he had always wanted? Damon waited for it. Wished for it. Wanted it.

"And…?" He asked.

Elena turned to face the ceiling. "I…"

* * *

A/N: Yet another cliff hanger. Am I mean or what!? So happy you are all enjoying my story and I'm thankful for all the lovely reviews on the last chapter. I am really eager to get this out and finish it because I'm just so excited to read what you all thought.

On another note I'm sort of in the process of developing a new story (maybe) and I may be in the market for a Beta as I really think this could improve my writing. I'm not entirely sure whether I will progress with this potential story or not. I've written sort of a script(?) with the plot all planned and everything. If you're interested in being a potential Beta reader let me know!

I'm looking for someone who is good with story structure, continuity and character development as this is where I believe I struggle most. Good grammar and spelling is a bonus obviously. You have to watch TVD and know the characters well and if you're not a Delena shipper or can't stand Delena probably don't bother. I would really like someone who can get back to me quickly, within a day or two and someone who doesn't mind that I write several chapters ahead usually. If you are interested please let me know :)

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	23. Stefan Is Back

"And…?" Damon asked.

Elena turned to face the ceiling. "I…still don't know."

Elena breathed a sigh of something. Relief? She was unsure. Being honest was hard. Truth be told when Damon and her had started to make out just before Elena had felt that feeling of affection but now that the act was over she wasn't sure it was real. Lust often felt like love.

"You don't know?" Damon asked.

Elena could sense the annoyance in Damon's voice. She sat up, leaning back on her elbows. It had not been her intention at all to lure Damon upstairs and fuck him. No. She had intended to go to the founder's day party, get a little tipsy and go home. Only Damon had showed up with that ridiculous woman he's been keeping company with and then she started to weigh in on things she had no business weighing in on. That had annoyed Elena. She felt like she had every right to abuse Damon's date and yes, maybe she had taken it a tad too far threatening her and assuming every vampire/werewolf in the room would protect her, but they had previously. But when Damon dragged her upstairs her first thought was not 'oh now we can fuck'. No. She had every intention of having an argument with him and him storming out.

He almost had. Elena had let him get to the door before she found herself not wanting him to leave. At first it was because she wasn't done fighting with him. She had more to say. More to tell. He needed to listen. She was sorry she was such a bitch but also angry he had compared her to Katherine of all people. Then he looked at her _that_ way and Elena found herself wanting nothing more than to have him. His lips kissed her and it was all over for her. At that moment Elena had every intention of fucking him.

"I'm not sure how I feel about either of you. Stefan's been really weird lately and I just…I want to know he's the same person from before." Elena revealed.

Elena watched as Damon stood up and began gathering his clothes. He had a completely annoyed look on his face while scoffing and snorting and rambling things to himself that Elena - even with superhuman hearing - could not understand.

"Of course." Damon spat, throwing his shirt over his torso.

"Of course what?" Elena asked, slightly annoyed herself.

She stood up ready to have another argument with Damon.

"Of course you'd fuck me and then rave about Stefan. I was stupid to think it was anything else. You're waiting for Stefan. You're always waiting for Stefan. Stefan leaves you behind, turns into the ripper and kills people. Who's there for you _all_ summer, Elena? Who's consoling you and comforting you and listening to you cry yourself to sleep? Me. That's who. The pathetic fool I am. Stefan lies about kidnapping me, lies about how the bond was broken and why I left. Who tells you the truth? Me. Who do you go running to? Stefan. I'm such a fucking idiot for thinking this would be any different! What was I? A booty call because you're currently off again with Stefan?" Damon growled

"Damon you're being irrational. I didn't mean it like that. You know I didn't." Elena said, rolling her eyes like it was no big deal.

Damon pulled on his pants, furiously tucking his shirt in.

"Do I? Because I think you meant exactly what it sounded like. Like I'm always second choice Elena. Like whenever you can't make up your mind I'm who you go to you. Is it because I'm a push over? Because I relentlessly, continue to love you even though you've stomped all over my heart a thousand times?" Damon said.

Elena strode over to him. She felt terrible for how he had perceived her answer but it had not been what she meant. Or maybe it had? Was she waiting for Stefan? Is that what she had meant? She knew she loved Stefan and maybe if he wasn't being such a pathological liar lately Elena wouldn't have broken up with him. But she had and now she was looking at all her options. Did that mean Damon was second best? She wasn't sure because maybe he was always first and she just hadn't realised it yet.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I don't know how I'm feeling about either of you." Elena told him.

"So you want to clarify that by sleeping with me?" Damon scoffed.

"No. I never intended on this happening Damon." Elena retorted.

"Really? I don't believe you." Damon snapped.

"You're being such a jerk right now." Elena said.

"And you're being a manipulative bitch." Damon responded.

Elena slapped him. She was glad she was a vampire for that. Slapping him was so much more satisfying when she knew it would hurt.

"This was a huge fucking mistake. I'm leaving." Damon told her.

"Good. Leave." Elena replied childishly.

Elena threw him his jacket angrily as he exited the room. She flinched as the door slammed behind him. She had no idea how to react to that. She was angry of course, angry that he had misconstrued everything she had said like she had meant to hurt him. It wasn't her fault that she didn't know which brother she wanted. If any at all. Was it wrong to sleep with Damon when she wasn't sure she wanted him the way he possibly wanted her? Possibly. But in the moment Elena was sure she knew what she wanted. It was only after the act was done that the excited feeling had left and Elena realised she had possibly mistaken her lust for Damon for love.

A few moments later Elena composed herself so she could venture back downstairs. Sure that Caroline would have suspected something she readied herself for the onslaught of invasive questions. But when she returned to the party neither Caroline or Klaus was in sight. Strange, she thought to herself. With no other people to be around Elena left, not wanting to see Damon and his skank friend if they had decided to stay.

Elena found her car quickly but cautioned herself when she realised she was not alone. The feeling of someone watching her sent tingles down her spine. She spun around only to be met with Stefan's heavy frame. She jumped but laughed at herself when she recognised his familiar face.

"Stefan." She gasped. "You scared me."

Elena leant back against the door of her car, placing a hand to her heart. Her heart was racing from the brief fear.

"Where have you been? No one has seen you for a week." Elena asked.

"I've been doing some thinking." Stefan said.

"Oh?" Elena smiled.

Stefan's stature stiffened. "Have you been with Damon?" He questioned.

"No…I mean yes," Elena laughed off her nervousness, "I seen him at the party."

It was a small lie but an important one. It seemed like Stefan was waiting for more. Elena tried to fake like she was happy to see him, like she wasn't scared but she couldn't shake the feeling that Stefan was acting more than a little scary.

"I can smell him on you." Stefan said.

Elena's eyes darted around her. "Uhm, yeah. I hugged him goodbye when he left."

Stefan's face grew visibly angrier. "Liar!" He yelled.

"Stefan, hey keep it down. There are people still at the party." Elena hushed him.

"Don't tell me to keep it down you slut. You fucked him didn't you? I know you did. I can smell it all over you." Stefan growled.

"Stefan, please you're scaring me." Elena whispered.

Stefan's fist went through the window of her car. The glass shattered immediately, sending shards into Elena's bare arm. It didn't hurt a whole lot but picking out the tiny fragments was going to be annoying later.

"I thought I made it clear he was to stay away from you." Stefan said, but he seemed not to be talking to anyone but himself.

"He did. I promise Stefan. He had a date with him! That girl, Heather." Elena replied, her voice shaking.

Stefan paced for a few moments, Elena mentally took note of her surroundings wondering if she could run faster or at least call to Caroline or someone in the vicinity. Then she remembered Caroline had disappeared so had Klaus and any other remaining supernatural creature that might have helped her out.

"He won't touch you anymore." Stefan firmly stated.

Elena knew at that moment Stefan was completely crazy. He grabbed her arm and forced her into the car, her in the passenger seat and him as the driver. He sped crazily down the driveway and slid out onto the slippery road. Elena was truly afraid for her life. The only thing that was assuring her that her life was safe was that Stefan loved her and all he wanted was to have her. That was sure to keep her safe. Elena slipped her hand into the purse in her hands and blindly tried to manoeuvre the buttons to call Caroline or Bonnie. But before she had a chance Stefan grabbed her purse and threw it out the window, essentially ending any possibility of Elena getting help.

"I was saving this to incapacitate Damon, but I don't trust that you won't fling yourself out of the car." Stefan said.

Before Elena could react Stefan punctured her skin with a vervain dart. Elena quickly found her eyes growing heavy and her mind succumbing to unconsciousness.

* * *

A/N: Stefan has lost it. Love reading all your reviews. Thank you so much for continuing to read my story.

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	24. Crazy

Stefan dropped Elena's limp body to the ground. Her lifeless body flayed across the concrete floor of his new basement. There were no windows and the only escape out was the door they had entered through which Stefan had fitted with several locks and doused the doorknob in vervain. This was not how his plan was supposed to go. Initially he had intended on running into Damon at the founder's party, hoping to catch him off guard he was going to vervain him and bring him here. But he had got to the party too late and then he found Elena and she had smelt like him and it had been all too much. Suddenly his plan had gone from keeping Damon in his basement to keeping Elena in his basement.

They were hours outside of Mystic Falls in some small town with only miles and miles of farm land. This was the only house for about 20 minutes. He had made sure of that. Stefan gathered a nearby blanket and covered Elena's body with it, she looked cold. As cruel as his act might have seemed Stefan just wanted to love her. More than that he just wanted Elena to love him back. With Damon out of the picture and Elena soundly locked inside his basement Stefan was sure that now they could be together without any interruptions.

Elena started to stir, groaning at the feeling of remnants of vervain still coursing through her body. Her eyes slowly opened and for a moment she stared up at the ceiling trying to get her bearings. Stefan waited patiently for her attention to turn to him. When her gaze shifted and her eyes set upon Stefan's body standing over her, Stefan anticipated her next move. Elena shot up and made a move for the only escape but Stefan was ready for that and stopped her. His body made for a hard surface to run into as Elena fell backwards at the surprise move.

"Stefan what is going on? Where are we?" Elena asked, her eyes darting around the room nervously.

"_Home_." Stefan replied.

"Home? Stefan I don't understand." Elena said.

"It's just me and you now Elena. Everything is going to be fine." Stefan answered, trying to soothe Elena.

He placed a hand on her face. Elena quickly pushed him away. Stefan grew angry.

"Don't be like that." Stefan warned.

"I want…I want to go home. Take me home Stefan." Elena started to sob.

"You are home Elena. This is _our_ home." Stefan cooed.

"Stefan please!" Elena begged.

Stefan walked slowly over to Elena, a smile on his face that Elena only found unsettling. In an instant his hand shot out and once again she felt the familiar sting of a vervain dart entering her skin.

"Just until you calm down, baby." Stefan's soft voice whispered into her ear.

_Day Two_

Stefan opened the door to the basement, unlocking several locks. He proceeded to make his way downstairs with a tiny amount of blood for Elena and a glass of water. He was hoping for a more welcoming girlfriend this time but knew that Elena was probably going to be difficult. She just needed time to adjust, Stefan told himself. This had been a surprise, a shock. As much as he wanted for Elena to fall into his arms and never let her go he knew that she needed time to process their new life. Stefan had, had weeks to process their new life. He had purchased the house and made plans and he was okay with it all. Elena just needed time.

He found her curled up in a corner, looking less than pleased with his presence. Her eyes immediately focused on the blood but she waited for him to speak first.

"Here, I brought you some blood." He said, gesturing for her to join him.

Slowly he watched as Elena stood up and cautiously made her way to him. Of course she'd be wary, he told himself. After all he had now vervained her twice. She approached him and he offered her the blood. She took it eagerly and gulped down the mouthful of blood in less than a second. Stefan knew she was probably hungry for more but he had to remember that the more he gave her the stronger she'd be. He had to keep her weak for now, until she was more willing to be apart of this new life.

Of course he would be able to over power her easily but if she happened to catch him off guard at any point the lack of blood and vervain would keep her weaker. She would run slower, act slower, be weak. It was a hard thing for him to watch, his love curled up in the corner all weak.

"This is for you too." Stefan added, passing her the bottle of water.

"No thanks." Elena replied.

Stefan caught the edge in her tone.

"You need to keep hydrated." Stefan told her.

"What I need Stefan is to go _home_. Home to my brother who is probably by now worried sick about me." Elena replied.

"Jeremy? Oh, I took care of that." Stefan shrugged.

Elena's eyes went wide. "What did you do to my brother?"

"Don't be stupid, Elena. I didn't hurt him. I merely wrote a letter from you telling Jeremy you needed some time to yourself at the Lake House and not to contact you just yet." Stefan said.

"How long do you think that's going to last?" Elena retorted.

"Well, when he starts to grow suspicious that's when you'll have had time to get used to this new situation and you'll call him and tell him you've left Mystic Falls behind to start a life with me." Stefan smiled.

"Are you crazy? I'm never going to be okay with this Stefan." Elena scoffed.

Stefan shrugged his shoulders and placed the bottle on a nearby shelf. He turned and walked towards the door, before he left he faced her.

"I love you, Elena."

_Day Five_

Stefan grabbed the vile of blood from the table and a fresh bottle of water. Elena had been quite difficult the past couple of days but Stefan felt good about today. Today felt like _the_ day. The day she'd say _I love you_ back and the day she'd finally come to terms with her new life. Yes, today Stefan was sure he'd be letting her go and they'd go upstairs to _their_ new bedroom and make love for hours. She'd forget about Jeremy and Mystic Falls, but most of all she'd forget Damon ever existed.

As he once again entered the basement he found Elena lying on the floor, spread out. Her dress from the founder's day party was in tatters at this point and he reprimanded himself for forgetting to bring her clothes. She didn't even bother to acknowledge his presence as he got closer to her. Elena's skin was dry and much more paler than usual. Her lips were starting to crack and bleed and her hair had started to dull. This was due to the lack of blood which Elena was now refusing to drink. This infuriated Stefan to no end but he could not force her to drink. Eventually she would grow so hungry she would drink. Stefan had to remember that.

"Good morning." Stefan greeted her.

"Go. Away." Elena choked, her throat so dry it felt scratchy.

"I brought you some blood. I know you're probably just going to refuse to drink it, just like the others but I thought maybe you'd be more compliant today." Stefan said.

Elena sat up very slowly. Her body was aching with hunger. She had never in her entire life felt so hungry. The blood in the room was making her crazy with desire. Her senses were on high alert.

"I'd rather die." She coughed.

Stefan had to warn himself to keep calm. He watched Elena lay back down on the floor and stare back at the ceiling.

"The quicker you come to terms with our relationship the quicker you can get out of here. We can start our lives together. Travel the world. Italy is nice this time of year. You'd love Rome. Don't you want to travel the world with me Elena?"

When Elena did not reply Stefan dropped the vile on the ground beside Elena. It rattled as the glass hit the ground but did not break. He hoped that she'd not be able to contain herself but he was wrong. His anger was almost boiling. Stefan threw the bottle of water against the wall, the bottle exploding and water shooting out.

"You _will_ come to terms with us Elena." Stefan growled.

"Or what, Stefan? You'll keep me here forever. I'll desiccate before I agree to this ridiculous idea." Elena huffed, feeling the last of her energy depleting.

Stefan turned on his heel. "I love you!" He shouted from the door as he left.

* * *

A/N: I want to start off by saying I am truly sorry to anyone who has stopped reading my story or feels they will no longer continue after this chapter or any other chapter. It disheartens me to know that I've gone from making you really interested in reading my story, to not being able to take it anymore. I am sorry. Like I've said before it was never my intention to make Elena/Damon the way they are in my story. Somewhere in the process I guess I got off track and my characters got distorted. I regret how bitchy I've made Elena and how soft I've made Damon. But unfortunately it's not something I can change right now.

Thank you, however to those of you who have continued to read this even through the less interesting parts or the more frustrating parts. I am grateful for anyone who has stuck by me and encouraged me even though at (most) times my characters are a bit OOC.

I promise you the end is near. Chapter 33 is the last (unless you decide to stop reading at chapter 32 which is possible) instalment and I hope that you will be satisfied by the end. Whether Damon and Elena are endgame or not (you will have to wait and see), I thank each and every one of you for the kind words.

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	25. Heather's Proposition

Damon rolled over, languidly placing his arm over his bedmate. His room was dark, his thick black curtains blocking any sunlight that dared to shine through. Usually Damon enjoyed the morning sun protruding through his giant window. However Heather had no daylight ring so Damon was obliged to block the sun out. Last night had been crazy, he thought to himself as he laid there. Elena had been crazy. The sex had been amazing, mind blowing, perfect even but afterwards had been less than. Damon didn't know whether to fully blame Elena on her actions or not. On one hand she had acted like a selfish, snotty, uptight, manipulative bitch but on the other hand who could blame her?

What was he saying? Who could blame her? Damon could. Okay, so Elena's whole life had changed. Damon tried to imagine what it must be like for Elena, what breaking the bond must have been like. She was confused and Damon could understand that but he wasn't some experiment. She couldn't play with his emotions like that because she needed to figure out how she felt. It was either she did love him or she didn't. There was no Stefan/Damon/Stefan/Damon anymore. Not that it mattered anymore. After last night he promised himself he'd never go there again. He was done with Elena and her games, sick and tired of being her second choice. He deserved to be someone's first choice.

So angry and so hurt Damon had left the party immediately after his tryst with Elena. He brought Heather back to his house and fucked her into the early hours of the morning. Every thrust was a 'fuck you' to the girl he wanted not to love. He was semi-happy with his new found friendship/relationship with Heather. If Elena cared at all about him, that's all that should have mattered. His happiness. That was all Damon cared about for Elena. When she was with Stefan, as hurt as he was all he wanted was for her to be happy. If that was Stefan who made her happy, then so be it. Why couldn't she give him the same courtesy?

Heather stirred beside him. As beautiful and fun as Heather was, she wasn't Elena. Damon couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or not. It was probably a good thing, at least for his heart. Heather had made her intentions very clear from the start, she wasn't interested in proclaiming ever lasting love. They'd be friends and they'd enjoy each other's company. Damon wanted to just want that and he did at the moment. But what about in the future? He wasn't all that good at keeping friendships but what if Heather stuck around? What if Damon found himself wanting more from her? It was an unlikely situation as Damon could not imagine himself loving anyone for a very, very long time. But if the situation did arise would he be left with yet another broken heart? Why did he continue to befriend women who wanted to be nothing but friends, or at the most friends with benefits.

"Good morning, tiger." Heather purred, slinking a hand beneath the sheets to run her fingers along Damon's defined torso.

"Morning." Damon responded, feeling a familiar twinge in his lower region.

He hadn't told Heather about last night, he didn't feel it was necessary. They had never said they were exclusive, Damon knew that they weren't. Heather was free to suck and fuck whomever she felt like and Damon assumed he was too. His little backslide with Elena was something he didn't need nor wanted to divulge, especially to a woman who was less than impressed with his infatuation with Elena. Heather had been very opinionated about his relationship with Elena, telling Damon to get rid of her, leave Mystic Falls and Elena behind.

"Still thinking about her." Heather sighed, removing her hands from Damon's torso.

"What?" Damon asked, only just realising how distracted he must have seemed.

Heather got out of bed, her naked body on display for Damon. She sauntered over the shower, but didn't bother to call for Damon. In a nano-second Damon was by her side but Heather did not seem interested. She pushed Damon away gently.

"You're a glutton for punishment, you know that right? That girl…I just can't see what you like about her." Heather shrugged, water cascading over her naked body.

"You don't know her like I do." Damon admitted, watching on eagerly as Heather lathered her body with soap.

"Damon, I know enough. Do you think I'm stupid? I heard you upstairs with her. I also heard the aftermath." Heather said.

Damon did not know what to say? How could he justify it? How could it make it seem like Elena wasn't a bad person? Why did he want to defend her?

"She's not usually like that." Damon replied.

"Oh? I must have caught her on a bad day. So she's not the same girl who turned your humanity back on by stripping for you? Nor is she the same girl who practically dry humped you at a motel, even though she still loved your brother? Right. I must have her mistaken for somebody else." Heather dead-panned.

"You could have her mistaken for Katherine." Damon half-joked.

"I do not think this is funny." Heather said.

"Good thing this has nothing to do with you then." Damon replied.

"You're right. I should mind my own business. Only, I've come to care about you Damon and I can't hope to stand by while this insipid, immature girl continues to play you for a fool." Heather told Damon.

Damon tried to hear her words, but they were falling on deaf ears. He so desperately wanted to not love Elena, to be truthfully over her and never look back but he knew that he wasn't. At that moment Damon heard a knock on the door. He excused himself and raced downstairs. When he opened the door all he found was a letter sitting on the front porch with his name scrawled across the front.

_Dear Damon,_

_I need some time to think. I've gone to the lake house to try and work out my feelings. I know that I still love Stefan and I'm sorry for that. I feel like he'll always be the one for me. However, I still consider you in my thoughts and for this reason I need to be alone. Please don't try to contact me. When I'm ready to talk I'll call you._

_Elena._

Damon's brows furrowed. The letter seemed odd. Last night Elena was confused about Stefan, she had said she still loved him but it didn't feel real. He glanced over the letter one more time. He didn't care. She sent him a letter and didn't even bother to mention their passionate encounter last night. Of course. He stormed inside and threw the letter into the fire. After watching the paper burst into a flame and then disintegrate Damon returned upstairs where he found Heather throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He had completely missed the most part of her shower. He was kicking himself for that.

"Who was at the door?" Heather asked, brushing through her short blonde locks with her fingers.

"No one. Or…someone left a letter. _Elena_ left a letter." Damon sighed.

"What did it say?" Heather questioned.

"That she needs some time to think. That she feels like Stefan will always be the one for her." Damon revealed.

Heather shook her head, an amused smile on her face. "Of course she did."

Even though something in the letter did not sit well with Damon he had to put it out of his mind. If Elena really loved him, she'd know. If she knew she'd be here, instead of Heather and he'd be blissfully bringing her orgasm after orgasm. Damon knew he loved her. Damon had known he loved her from very early on. Elena was not confused, she was selfish.

"Look Damon, I have some things to do when the sun goes down. I'll be out of town for a couple of days. But when I get back I want you to leave with me." Heather said.

"Leave? For how long?" Damon asked.

"Forever. What have you got left in this town Damon? The girl you love, doesn't love you. Your brother wants to kill you. Everyone else seems to care less about how you feel or what happens to you. So leave with me. We'll go to South America and dance under the stars and feed on the locals. I don't stay in one place for very long and this place is wearing me out." Heather replied.

Damon looked around his room. It would always be here. There was always someone to take care of the boarding house. Stefan would be here to take care of it. He was not going to leave Mystic Falls or Elena behind, but maybe Damon would. A life without Elena, as painful as it might seem to begin with had to be better than a life _with_ her. The constant tug of war between him and Stefan. Before her, when he had been searching for Katherine he was care free and a man of his own. Now his whole life was consumed with thoughts of Elena and keeping her safe and always wondering what she was doing and if she was okay. It had been a long time since he had only cared about himself.

"I'll think about it." Damon said.

* * *

A/N: Is Damon going to leave with Heather? Well, I guess you'll have to stay tuned.

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	26. Something Isn't Right

It had been just a few short days since Heather had left on her mysterious errand and Damon was more than missing her. Not only did he miss the companionship he had quickly become used to, he missed the sex. Heather was a goddess in bed, probably from hundreds of years of experience. He missed the way she was a straight talker and the way she seemed to clarify parts of his life he was not able to. In the short time he had known her, she had Damon confirming what he had pretty much known all along, he was never going to get the girl. Only this time it was not because he wasn't good enough.

Katherine had not loved him at all. She used him for her games, pitted the brothers against one another. Damon had loved her whole heartedly, stupidly wanting to die and become a vampire for her. He had been reckless and immature in his love for Katherine and he had learned a lot from that. Elena however, simply did not love him enough. Damon knew somewhere deep inside her she probably felt something towards him, enough to sleep with him and enough to always be wondering which Salvatore satisfied her more. He was good enough for her, he knew that for sure. Although sometimes Damon acted irrationally in certain situations and of course made decisions most people would not, he would have loved Elena more than she would ever know. He would have pampered her with lavish dinners and weekends away and she would have been happy. But she couldn't love him the way he wanted her to and Damon didn't want to love someone like that, not anymore.

Over the course of the last couple of days while he had been relishing in his alone time Damon had, had a lot of time to think about Heather's proposal. When he had first returned to Mystic Falls his intentions had been simple. Free Katherine and run away into the night with her. Only she had not been where he thought she was and he had been a little more than depressed about her betrayal. Elena had comforted him and it was in those moments that he began to fall in love with her. He had wanted to leave Mystic Falls the moment he was done with ruining Stefan's life and freeing Katherine and then Elena had happened and he no longer found himself wanting to run away. He found himself unable to think about a life outside of Mystic Falls, or at least one that didn't involve Elena in some way.

However now that things were the way they were he couldn't find a reason to stay. Elena had made her choice clear (or at least to Damon) and why should he sit by and watch her play house with Stefan? There was no reason he should. He had lived a pretty damn good bachelor life before, indulging in blood, booze and breasts. It had been a party 24/7, none of this hero stuff that he was now so used to. His life before had been every man's dream and he had traded it all in to watch the girl he hated to love, love his brother more. How pathetic. With every passing moment that he thought about Heather's question, he grew more and more aware that he had nothing left in Mystic Falls. The things that otherwise would have kept him here no longer existed.

Momentarily Alaric's voice popped into his head. _Fight for her, you idiot_. He smirked to himself. Alaric pretended like he hated the idea of Elena and him, but Damon knew secretly all along Alaric had been hoping for Damon to get his happy ending. Maybe if Alaric were alive Damon would have listened but he wasn't. He was dead and that was just yet another reminder of things in Mystic Falls he didn't need to stay for anymore.

He knew in a day or two when Heather returned Damon would have to make a decision. Stay behind and continue to love Elena even though she didn't love him back? Or leave her behind and relish in a life he once loved so much? To some the choice seemed obvious. Why would someone torture themselves by staying behind? Damon didn't really know. Was it torture to watch Elena and Stefan? Yes. In some way, Damon was sure that it made him completely crazy. Most men would have run far, far away by now. Elena had baggage and a lot of it. Damon kind of liked that about her though. She was rich with history, tainted with pain. Damon felt a connection to her pain, losing her parents, her aunt, Alaric. Even though Damon had cared less about his own father's death, he could sympathise. His mother had once been an integral part of his life and when she died Damon thought he'd never feel such pain again.

Thoughts were swimming in his head as he pulled into the car park at the Mystic Falls Grill. Loneliness had started to seep in and although Damon pretty much hated everyone in this town, he found himself willing to put up with them to keep his loneliness at bay.

Damon walked into the Grill. Matt was bussing tables like usual. He kind of felt sorry for the kid. He had parents who didn't care about him and all his friends were either vampires or werewolves. He was weak in comparison and disposable. In any situation Matt was no help. Not strong enough to fend off another supernatural being, he was pretty useless. That had to suck. All his friends were caught up in their own lives with their own crap, yet Matt seemingly didn't care. He seemed happy in himself, content in working a meaningless job, earning next to nothing just to get by. If Damon was a nicer guy he might have slipped him a hundred dollar bill as a tip.

He took a seat at the bar and ordered a bourbon. Nothing cured his loneliness like mediocre bourbon at a mediocre establishment.

Just as he gulped down the brownish liquid he felt a presence behind him and immediately recognised the scent. He smirked to himself and spun in his chair to greet the person.

"Blondie." Damon greeted.

Caroline grimaced at the nickname Damon had so unaffectionately given her. He didn't care much for how she felt about the name.

"Hi. Have you spoken to Elena lately? I've been trying to get in touch with her but she's totally gone off the grid. I thought maybe you might have spoken to her." Caroline said, getting straight to the point.

"Me? Let's see the last time I spoke to Elena was…" Damon pretended like he was having a hard time remembering, but the last encounter was fresh in his mind. "Ah, the founder's party where Elena was just so lovely to Heather."

He watched Caroline's face contort into disapproval. He didn't really care whether blondie approved of his new friend or not. Truth be told part of the reason he brought Heather to that party is because he knew how it would go done with everyone.

"So you haven't spoken to her since? Her phone is off and I'm getting really worried." Caroline whined.

Damon rolled his eyes. Girls were always so dramatic. Obviously when Elena decided she needed some time to herself she hadn't bothered to tell her friends. Actually that seemed kind of odd in Damon's opinion. Elena knew that when she went off the grid everyone started to worry. When no one could contact her, it was an immediate indication she was in trouble. Setting the thought to the back of his mind Damon pulled out his cell and flicked through the contacts until he found Jeremy Gilbert's name.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked.

"Calling Jeremy. If anyone has heard from Elena, it's sure to be him." Damon replied.

A few rings later Jeremy picked up.

"Hey." Jeremy answered, a polite but hostile tone in his voice.

"Sorry to skip the pleasantries Jeremy but have you spoken to your sister lately?" Damon said.

"Elena? She's at the lakehouse." Jeremy replied.

"So you have spoken to her then?" Damon asked.

"No…not really. She left a note a couple of days ago…the night of the founder's party actually. She said she just needed some time to think to herself." Jeremy said. "Why, what's going on?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to talk to her." Damon quickly replied.

He hung up promptly. Jeremy had pretty much confirmed what he had thought. Elena was off at the lake house pretending like she had a choice to make, when really she already knew who she was going to choose. She was sending everyone into a frenzy for nothing.

"So?" Caroline questioned.

"Jeremy said she's at the lake house. She needed some time to herself or whatever." Damon rolled his eyes.

"Are you sure? Elena doesn't go missing for days without telling us." Caroline replied.

Damon could see the true concern in Caroline's eyes. Even though he pretty much detested the always perky blonde he had to commend her for being such a good friend. Caroline had pretty much stuck by Elena through everything. She was a good friend, a little judgemental and meddled in just about everything, but a good friend none the less.

Damon stood up and pulled his keys out his pocket. "Look, I'll go take a drive down there and when I see that she's there I'll give you a call and let you know. Seriously though blondie, I'm sure she's completely fine."

Caroline eyed Damon.

"You better call me as soon as you know!" Caroline told him.

Damon tried to ignore her chirpy voice as he made his way back out to his car.

He drove off in the direction of the lake house. It was sort of a long drive just to check on Elena and truthfully he had no idea why he was even doing it. Then again, he had a strange feeling that something wasn't right. Elena gave both him and Jeremy letters saying she was going to the lake house, yet had completely forgotten to mention anything to Caroline and assumably Bonnie too. Elena told them everything, including if she was going to be out of town for even just a day or two.

As he sped down the highway Damon couldn't shake the feeling like something wasn't right. He wanted so desperately to turn around and forget about her. Make Caroline go check on her. But somewhere deep inside he knew if he didn't go and make sure she was okay, he'd never forgive himself if she wasn't.

Damon's car pulled into the gravelled driveway and the first thing Damon noticed was that her car was not there. He quickly switched off his car and at vampire speed, ran to the front door. He knocked a few times but when no one answered he broke the lock and stepped inside. There was not a sound to be heard. He couldn't smell her either. The house seemed empty and dusty, like no one had been here in awhile. He was thankful that Jeremy had long ago invited him in because the next thing he checked was upstairs.

He found no bag, no blood, nothing that could have indicated Elena had at least been here the last couple of days. Suddenly he started to get a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Something wasn't right.

* * *

A/N: Even though I've written this entire story to it's end (which I'm glad I did), I'm at a point where I don't even feel like uploading the rest of it. Don't worry, I will. I just, I've gotten a lot of reviews lately from people who are really disappointed in how this story has panned out and I guess they've been getting to me more than I would have looked. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm really disappointed in myself at how I've portrayed my characters. I don't tend to plan things out because I like to just write and see where things take me. That being said, sometimes I write something and it sounds really good to me but then I go back after posting it and realise that I could have done so much better. For instance I could have tried to write Elena better and I could have tried to make Damon a stronger character. I could have written Heather a better storyline with a background and everything and I could have overall just done such a better job.

I didn't want to announce this till the end but I was planning a sequel and at first was really excited. I was so happy with my plot and everything and then I started to get all these reviews from the last couple of chapters and I started to think why bother? I don't know whether it's worth it. I started to write the first chapter and I got through it and really loved it but as I was writing the second chapter (that was when I got the bad reviews) that was when I wasn't sure I should undertake a sequel.

Look, don't get me wrong I really do appreciate constructive criticism and I hope that all of you can see that I try to take all of your criticisms and write better or do better. I try to be a better writer. I love hearing your feedback, good and bad because it makes me see things I wouldn't normally see. But as this story gets closer to the end I know that a lot of you aren't bothering to continue to read this because of where it's gone. I can understand that.

So I'm probably sorry for this chapter and the rest of them to come, but none the less I'll continue to update until this is done.

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	27. Is Elena At The Lake House?

Damon stepped back outside the lake house and quickly found Caroline's number. _Stop assuming the worst_, Damon had to tell himself. She was probably safe and sound back in Mystic Falls. As he waited for Caroline to pick up Damon took a quick walk around the premises close to the house, if she had been here maybe she dropped something and Damon could stop thinking the worst. After several rings Caroline's voice blasted through Damon's cell.

"Is she there?" Caroline asked.

"Hello to you too." Damon scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Damon!" Caroline squealed.

He knew it was an inappropriate time to make a joke. After all Elena was presumed missing and that was never a good thing. But with Klaus not a threat Damon really had no idea who else could have kidnapped Elena.

"She's not here. I don't think she was ever here." Damon replied.

"I called Bonnie after you left and she hasn't spoken to Elena either. We're getting really worried Damon, where could she be?" Caroline questioned.

"I don't know." Damon said.

"Did you say something to her at the founder's party? Maybe you're the reason this is happening." Caroline sniped.

"Me? Elena was the one getting all jealous over my date." Damon snorted.

"What did you say to her when you went upstairs? You probably upset her." Caroline added.

"We didn't so much as talk as we did…_other things_." Damon smirked.

He could hear Caroline's disgust through the phone. "You're a pig."

"Thank you." Damon replied.

After a momentary silence Damon had to get back to thinking about Elena. As much as he didn't want to get involved in yet another mission to save Elena's life (where ever the hell she was), he knew he had to. If something happened to her and he hadn't tried everything in his power to save her, he wouldn't be able to live.

"I'm going to call Stefan, maybe he's heard from her." Damon said, clicking the _end_ button before Caroline had a chance to reply.

Damon slipped back into his car and frantically dialled Stefan's number. He knew this was going to be an awkward situation, but a necessary one at that. As angry as Stefan might be at Damon and probably Elena he knew Stefan would do anything to keep Elena alive. If there was anyone who would be any help it would be his brother. That didn't mean Damon exactly liked the idea of asking his brother for help. Stefan had tried to stake him and the memory was still fresh in Damon's mind.

"Brother." Stefan answered.

"Stefan, hi." Damon replied.

"What is it that you want?" Stefan asked.

"It's Elena. She's missing. Jeremy and I both got weird letters the night of the founder's party saying she was going to the lake house but I've just been there and there's no sign of. I don't think she ever went there. Something is wrong." Damon confessed, turning on the engine to his car.

"I'm sure she's fine." Stefan quickly answered.

The tone in Stefan's voice made Damon furrow his brows. That was an unusual reaction. Or maybe Damon was overreacting. Maybe Stefan was just trying to get over Elena in the best way he knew how, cutting her out of his life. Damon wish he had that kind of restraint.

"I hope so, but I can't help but think she's not. You haven't spoken to her have you?" Damon asked.

"Nope." Stefan responded.

"Do you have any ideas of what has happened to her?" Damon kept prodding.

"No." Stefan answered.

"Look Stefan I get what you're trying to do. Cutting Elena out of your life? I wish I could do the same right now. But she might seriously be in trouble and I think I'm going to need your help." Damon said through gritted teeth.

The phone went silent but as the silence continued Damon started to hear noises in the background. At first Damon thought it might just be some random noise but then it started to sound like a muffled scream or a voice, like a female scream or voice.

"Stefan? What is that noise?" Damon questioned.

"Nothing. Traffic." Stefan lied.

But Damon knew Stefan wasn't telling the truth. Was that Elena? Did Stefan have Elena? Damon wanted to not believe that Stefan would do something like that but Stefan's behaviour lately had been erratic. The one thing that Damon was reassured by was that Stefan loved Elena. Which meant he wasn't going to hurt her. Or at least Damon hoped not.

"Where are you?" Damon asked.

"It doesn't matter where I am." Stefan responded.

"Stefan…" Damon began.

"What Damon? You think I don't know how you feel about her still? You can be with as many girls as you want but both you and I know that you love Elena and you'll always love her. But she's mine okay? I dated her first, she wanted me! Until you showed up and played mind games and now she's confused. But you're out of the picture now and it's just me and her and I know after a little while she'll remember how much she loved me. So just forget about her okay? I love her and I'm going to take good care of her."

Damon listened in horror as Stefan ended the phone call.

Elena was with Stefan. Stefan had kidnapped her. He had gone completely crazy with jealousy. But where was he? He wasn't at the boarding house. Damon shot Caroline a quick text.

_Stefan has Elena. He's gone crazy. Meet me at the Grill in 1 hour._

The burning intensity of his angry was growing every second.

* * *

A/N: I know this is short. Thanks for the overwhelming response to my last chapter, a lot of you were very kind and do love this story.

I'd just like to address some of the other reviewers. There were a couple of people who kind of came off rude, whether or not they intended that. I don't appreciate rude reviews. Constructive criticism is welcome and like I said previously I love knowing what you'd like changed or how you'd write the story if it was yours. I was not looking for sympathy in my last A/N, I was having a bad day on top of some bad reviews. I understand that there is always going to be people who won't like my story (or any story) and that is fine with me. I, myself am disappointed in this story as it hasn't gone the way I wanted it to. It's not just about you guys. As much as I write for you I write for myself too and I feel like I haven't written to my full potential and this is something I'm working on.

Anyway, I think after this A/N I'm not going to bother having a lot to say because I feel like every time I say something, someone takes it out of context and I have to explain what I really meant. Please don't see this as me being in a bad mood, rude, upset or anything of the sort because I'm not. I'm actually happy and although I feel this story isn't my best work, what's done is done.

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	28. Damon To The Rescue

"What Damon? You think I don't know how you feel about her still? You can be with as many girls as you want but both you and I know that you love Elena and you'll always love her. But she's mine okay? I dated her first, she wanted me! Until you showed up and played mind games and now she's confused. But you're out of the picture now and it's just me and her and I know after a little while she'll remember how much she loved me. So just forget about her okay? I love her and I'm going to take good care of her." Stefan said.

Elena struggled against Stefan's firm grip but in her weakened state she was no match for Stefan. He held her from behind, one hand firmly over her mouth and her body hugged tight to his. It pained him to have to restrain Elena in such a state but he couldn't have her screaming and pleading for Damon to rescue her. The idea of her new life was growing on her, Stefan was sure of that. Although she was still refusing to drink blood she had become slightly less hostile in the last day which could only be a good thing in Stefan's eyes. Maybe in another day or two she would begin to feed and then they could _really_ begin their new life.

However now there was the problem of Damon. Had he heard Elena's muffled voice? Stefan couldn't be sure. Damon had heard something but from his end it could have sounded like anything. What was reassuring Stefan was that Damon had no idea about the purchase of Stefan's new home. Even if he came looking for Elena he would have no idea where to start.

Stefan released Elena the moment he ended the call. She moved away from him at vampire speed to the other side of the room. Stefan had to admit she was looking a bit worse for wear. The simple, short vampire run from one side of the room to the other had her panting and looking like she was about to faint. Her red dress from the founder's party laid in a messy pile in the middle of the room. Stefan had given her a pair of jeans and a shirt yesterday, she had reluctantly put them on. Her face spoke all the words Elena did not, telling Stefan just how mad she was. It didn't bother Stefan all that much though because one day she would forgive him. She always did.

"I'm sorry." Stefan sighed. "I know that was a horrible thing for me to do. But I didn't want you pleading for help from _Damon_. You don't realise it yet Elena but you _want_ to be here." Stefan told her.

"Stop." Elena sobbed, tears streaking her dirty, dry face. "Just stop."

Stefan walked over to her and placed a hand on her cheek. Elena either didn't care or she had no more fight in her because an act that usually would have angered her, did nothing. She continued to sob, staring up at Stefan's face. He almost felt guilty enough to let her go. _Almost_. But then looking down at her he knew if he let her go he'd never see her again. Stefan had to continue to tell himself that one day soon she'll be okay with this and all will be forgiven.

"Please don't cry." Stefan whispered.

"Then let me go." Elena pleaded.

The tone in her voice was starting to break Stefan's heart. He embraced her in a hug that she quickly rejected, shoving him as hard as she possibly could, he barely flinched. He missed holding her when she cried, comforting her when she was sad. But he also missed happier moments. Cradling her face when they kissed, running his fingers through her hair when they made love. He briefly wondered how long until he could do those things again, be her one and only.

"You should drink." Stefan told her, vamp running to the shelf of untouched viles of blood and then back to her.

Elena turned her cheek as he came back to her, several viles in his hand. Stefan could probably force her to drink them but then that would be another thing Elena would need to forgive him for. The less he did, the less he'd have to apologise for later.

"Elena, come on. You must be hungry. You've been here for almost a week and you've barely drank anything." Stefan smiled.

His once charming smile probably wasn't so charming to Elena anymore. But he hoped it would still work.

"I told you. I'd rather desiccate." Elena spat.

Stefan watched her back slide down the wall as she slumped to the floor. If she just did as he asked and behave how he wanted her to then she wouldn't be like this! They could be in bed making love or reading books by the fireplace. Why did she have to be so stubborn? It was always one of the things Stefan hated most about her. That and how completely independent she demanded on being. He hated that she always did her own thing, was continuously risking her life for the sake of others. Didn't she get it by now? She was the most important thing in his life. Stefan had always done as she had asked, protected those she loved over her but it hadn't been because he wanted to. It had been because she asked. Lucky for him Damon had always been the selfish one and did the complete opposite of what Elena asked.

"Do you remember why you fell in love with me?" Stefan all of a sudden asked.

He could tell Elena didn't want to answer him. He continued to wait.

"Yes." Elena whispered.

"Aren't those things still true?" Stefan questioned.

Stefan stared down at Elena waiting for her to run into his arms at the memories of their early days. He anticipated the way her hair would swish over her shoulders and her legs would wrap around him. They'd probably make love right there on the spot and then in the sitting room in front of the burning fireplace and then twice more in the bedroom. He'd shower her in kisses and _I love yous _and then when they were done she'd tell him how sorry she was for acting like she had. He smiled at the thought as he waited for her to answer him.

"No. You are no longer kind and warm hearted. Do you think keeping me locked in a basement is going to win you points, Stefan? The man I loved, the Stefan I fell in love with, I don't think he exists anymore." Elena replied.

Her words stung more than a little. It was definitely not the answer Stefan had been waiting for.

"I'm the same person." Stefan snapped.

"Even if you are, I'm not." Elena replied.

"Yes you are, Elena! You're the same girl I fell for." Stefan argued.

"No, Stefan I'm not. I lost myself when I turned and I was trying to find my way back to who I was but it's impossible. You know why? Because I'm not that person anymore. I've changed. In that process my feelings for you changed." Elena said.

"You can change them back. I know you can." Stefan told her.

"Stefan, do you hear yourself?" Elena scoffed.

He watched Elena slowly slide back up the wall, steadying herself as her body was weak.

"This is about Damon isn't it!" Stefan yelled. "You love him don't you!"

Elena was so taken aback by his comment. Stefan slammed his fist into the concrete wall beside her head. He hadn't meant to scare her but he knew he had. The look in her eyes said it all for him. He was instantly sorry for getting so worked up over something that didn't matter. Whether she loved Damon or not wasn't relevant anymore. He was gone. He was never going to find them. She was his forever, for all of eternity.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I lost my temper." Stefan sighed, hoping to relieve Elena's anxiety.

As Stefan approached her to comfort her, he heard a familiar voice calling out his name. A voice he hadn't expected. A voice he didn't want to hear. He listened as Elena's heart started to pound and he listened as the voice got clearer. Stefan took one look at Elena and quickly snapped her neck. He hated the idea of doing something like that to her but he didn't want her trying to run away while he was dealing with his intruder.

He quickly made his way up the basement stairs and into his parlour where the one person he never wanted to see again was standing.

"Hello brother." Stefan said.

"Where's Elena?" Damon replied, whipping his head around to face Stefan

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A/N: Thanks for the kind reviews.

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	29. Finding Elena

Damon's brakes squealed as he pulled erratically into the car park at the Grill. It was past closing time but he could see the lights on and Caroline's car. He took a quick look around and vampire sped inside, startling the occupants. Sitting around a table, all with matching worried expressions on their faces was Caroline, Bonnie, Matt and surprisingly Klaus, who had not so much of a worried look on his face as an amused one.

"Damon! What's going on? I've been trying to call you." Caroline reprimanded, getting up from her seat beside Klaus.

"Stefan's got Elena." Damon announced.

"I know, you texted me that part. What else?" Caroline questioned.

"He's gone crazy. Completely mad. He kidnapped her. I know it. She wouldn't…I heard her. In the background." Damon mumbled.

He paced back and forth trying to think up a plan. A plan to kill his brother but first of all a plan to find her. He had no idea where Stefan could be. For all Damon knew he could be out of the country by now. Stefan wouldn't be stupid enough to stick around Mystic Falls, that was for sure. But nearby towns were a possibility, but there were so many to cover. There wasn't enough time for all of that. As much as he wanted to pretend like Stefan would never hurt Elena Damon couldn't be sure anymore. Lately he had been unpredictable and Damon knew how Elena could sometimes push buttons that she shouldn't. Hell, there had been occasions where Damon had wanted to strangle her.

"You heard what?" Bonnie asked.

"I…I don't know. Screams? Her voice? I'm not sure. But I know it was her." Damon replied.

"Stefan won't hurt her." Matt said.

Damon laughed at Matts irrelevant input. The kid once again had no use in this situation. If Stefan had gone as crazy as Damon had thought and he needed to be taken down, Caroline, Bonnie, hell even Klaus could help. Stefan could rip Matt's head off in an instant. He was once again the most useless person in the room.

"What is you're point in being here? You bring nothing to the table unless you can tell me where Stefan has Elena? No. Didn't think so." Damon snapped.

Caroline gave Matt an apologetic look that Damon managed to catch as he turned to face the windows. He had to think. But every time he tried he kept imagining Elena and the things Stefan might be doing to her.

"Look, let's all try and think here. Where could he have taken her?" Bonnie asked.

Damon once again, tired of the stupid questions turned to face Bonnie. "If I knew I wouldn't be here." Damon growled.

"I'm going to call my mom, maybe she can give us a list of places up for sale." Caroline interrupted.

"Don't forget foreclosures!" Klaus yelled as Caroline walked to the other side of the room.

"What are you even doing here?" Damon snarled, gesturing to Klaus.

"I am offering my assistance." Klaus replied.

"Like you even care what happens to her!" Damon yelled.

Klaus stood up, his teeth showing. It didn't take much to get Klaus angry and Damon knew yelling at an Original hybrid probably wasn't the best idea in the world.

"Stefan came to me a few weeks ago asking me to compel Elena from your mind. I thought maybe I could offer my help as an apology for not telling you, when I seen the warning signs _mate_." Klaus informed Damon.

As angry as Damon was about Klaus not revealing this piece of information weeks ago when this all could have been avoided he had to admit another person helping out wouldn't be so bad.

"My mom is emailing me a list right now of all the properties up for sale and foreclosure within a hundred mile radius." Caroline informed everyone as she returned to the group.

"Who's to say he hasn't taken her somewhere else? Another state? Out of the country?" Bonnie said.

"I doubt it." Klaus interrupted. "You should check the places with the least amount of exposure. Farms and isolated properties. If he's keeping her against her will he'll want it to be as far away from civilisation as possible."

Damon went to the bar and poured himself a shot of bourbon as he waited for Caroline to get the list of properties.

"Okay I got it. Klaus and I will check the ones in the next town over, Bonnie and Matt can do the town over from that and Damon, you can do the ones further out okay?" Caroline ordered.

Caroline handed everyone a list of addresses. Damon waited less than a second after he snatched the list from Caroline's hand to get back to his car. He sped out of the car park and drove at a rapid speed out of Mystic Falls. He was glad he was going this alone, he didn't need someone playing on his morals when he ripped Stefan's heart right out of his chest. Anger was coursing so fiercely through Damon's body the steering wheel was about to snap. If he didn't find…if he never found her he wouldn't know what to do. He couldn't go on with his life knowing she was unsafe or being held against her will.

The thought made Damon physically ill. As much as he loved Elena and at points wanted nothing more than to tie her up in the cellar (and possibly ravish her in as many ways as possible) he could never do something like that against her will. He couldn't fathom the idea of Stefan doing something like that either. He had always been more considerate of how Elena felt, much more than Damon. How is it that Damon became the good Salvatore sibling and Stefan had become the bad? They had totally switched personalities somewhere in between the bond breaking and Damon returning. Not that Damon would have ever gone this far to get the girl. What was the point? If Elena didn't love him back why would he want to listen to her continuously reject him? It was bad enough just once.

Then the thought dawned on Damon. Maybe she wasn't rejecting him. But the screams…that he _thought_ he heard. If he got there and this had all been some horrible mistake Damon wasn't sure what he would do.

Damon frantically pulled into a deserted driveway in the middle of nowhere. There were no lights on and the house was fairly modest. Damon suspected this probably wasn't the place but none the less sped out of the car and to the front door. He knocked a few times and poked his foot through the threshold. The house was empty, no owner. Damon had a quick look around, the place was dusty and old and if Stefan was here or had been here he hadn't bothered to clean. This was a dead end. Damon ran back to his car and continued to his next destination.

As he continued to drive along deserted roads he got a text from Bonnie and Matt. They had already checked out three properties with no luck. Damon was kind of glad. He wanted to be the one to find Stefan. He wanted to be the one to inflict as much misery and pain on his brother before anyone could stop him. He wanted to be the one to find Elena and bring her home. Not because he wanted her to thank him or to love him but because he wanted to know she was safe.

His car swerved into another driveway. A small farmhouse. The lights were once again off and when Damon entered the unoccupied house it was dusty and falling to pieces. Another dead end. He punched the wall, shattering the old wood with ease. His phone beeped with an indication of another text.

_Found nothing. We're coming to help you look_. Caroline.

_Don't bother. I'm fine on my own._ Damon replied.

He threw his cell into the passenger seat as he drove off down the road. He had several more houses to look through and he was growing more worried by the minute. He spotted a house about twenty miles down the road that wasn't on his list. A house with lights on. Damon had a feeling. He pulled slowly into the driveway and carefully and quietly opened the front door. Immediately he spotted a familiar jacket in the entryway. Stefan's. He entered the house with ease.

"Stefan!?" Damon yelled.

Damon made his way down the entryway. "Stefan!?"

He walked into the parlour, facing the entryway.

"Hello brother." Stefan greeted.

Damon's back was to Stefan but he quickly turned around at the sound of his voice to face his brother.

"Where's Elena?" Damon asked.

"Elena? She's fine. Sleeping." Stefan replied.

Damon couldn't take it. He charged at Stefan and took him by surprise. Stefan's back hit the ground with a loud thud. But Damon didn't stop there he threw punches to Stefan's face.

"Where is she!?" Damon yelled.

Stefan quickly gained the upper hand, throwing Damon across the room. Damon smashed a couple of end tables in the process but he barely felt it.

"She's not your concern. She picked me." Stefan told his brother.

"Is that what you call kidnapping these days?" Damon growled as he threw a lamp at Stefan's head.

"Kidnapping? Elena is upstairs happily asleep. We've been making love for days." Stefan announced.

Damon's heart sank. Was he wrong? He couldn't be. Surely Elena would have heard him yelling and come down to see what it was all about. He quickly dismissed Stefan's statement. He knew what he heard on the phone.

"Stefan I'm giving you one chance to let her go or I'll kill you." Damon said.

Before Damon got a reply Stefan threw himself at Damon, a fist pressed against his chest.

"She's mine!" Stefan yelled.

Damon could feel the pressure as Stefan's hand pushed inside his chest. He no longer felt like he could breathe as Stefan's hand wrapped around Damon's heart. Usually Damon would have easily over powered Stefan but with his hand around his heart any slight movement could kill him. Not only that but the not being able to breathe thing was keeping him at bay. Damon stared up into his baby brother's eyes, Stefan wasn't there. Not the brother he knew at least. Maybe ripper Stefan but Stefan had not turned his humanity off.

Just as Damon could feel the tugging of his arteries being pulled with Stefan's hand, Stefan was ripped from him, leaving his heart behind. Damon clutched his chest at the feeling of being able to breathe again and took a moment to take in what had just happened. Klaus was standing over Damon and Stefan was now slumped against the wall next to the fireplace. Damon was suddenly very thankful for Klaus' help. It took him a second but he stood up.

"This is the last time I'm going to ask you. Where is Elena?" Damon asked.

Damon's ears twitched at a very familiar sound. Elena gasping for air. He sped in the direction of her gasps, bypassing Stefan and hoping that Klaus would keep him there until he knew Elena was safe. He raced down a set of stairs and into a concrete basement. There she was, lying on the floor, clutching her neck and gasping for air.

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A/N: Sorry it's been awhile. I don't know, I've been a bit busy but I also kind of didn't feel like uploading. Don't worry, the rest is coming soon. Just four chapters to go.

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	30. What To Do With Stefan?

"_Damon_." Elena rasped, looking up at him.

Damon fell to his knees and threw his arms around her, hugging her close to his body. It was the first time in awhile that he was actually happy to see her. He wasn't thinking about loving her or her loving him back. All he cared about was her safety and now that he had found her and she was alright he wanted nothing more than to embrace her and relish in the fact that she was alive and well. After a few moments he pulled back to look at her. She was pale and her skin was dry and it was obvious she hadn't been feeding. Without a second thought Damon bit into his wrist and offered his blood to Elena who willingly placed her lips over the wounds and began to drink.

Damon had to remind himself of the situation as Elena suckled on his wrist. The feeling of her drinking his blood was euphoric and he quickly remembered why this was considered an intimate thing to do. After all he did remember the first time she had drank from him after turning. But it didn't matter in that moment because she needed blood and she needed it quick. He caressed her head lovingly as she drank, closing his eyes in the moment. When she let his wrist go Damon almost whined at the loss of contact but quickly recovered.

"You came for me." She whispered.

"I told you I would." Damon replied.

Slowly Damon helped her to her feet. She looked a mess but still undeniably beautiful. If he wasn't so against affairs of the heart anymore he would have indulged in a kiss. But he was not into that anymore. He had told himself that this wasn't because he loved her. It was just something that had to be done. He wasn't going to think of this as anymore then helping a friend out.

"Where's Stefan?" Elena asked.

A quick depressing thought ran through Damon's mind. Why was she asking about Stefan? Had this truly been a misunderstanding? Maybe she had finally given in to him and wanted to be with him. Damon gulped down the sinking feeling in his throat. He wanted it not to matter so much. Whether she wanted to be with Stefan or not, he didn't want to care. He had gone on for so many weeks acting like he didn't love her, telling himself he didn't but he had always known that he had loved her. How could he not? Sure, he was angry at how she had been treating him and it was definitely a cruel thing to do on her part and he didn't want to forgive her. But how could he not? There she was, staring at him with those soulful doe eyes and looking every bit the fragile girl she used to be when she was human.

"Upstairs. Klaus and Caroline are there." Damon said.

A tear slipped down Elena's cheek. If she had been trying to hide it she didn't do a very good job. Damon captured the tear with his thumb and caressed the wet stain on her cheek.

"I was really scared, Damon. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't come for me." Elena began to sob.

"Hey, shh. It's okay, I'm here now." Damon soothed.

Elena leant her head on his shoulder and Damon caressed her head. Months ago Damon would have found this endearing and loving but now, despite the fact that he knew he still loved her he could only find this moment degrading. She had done so much to him, so much to hurt him and he had always stood by and watched her do it. He'd forgive her when she'd say sorry and continue to love her even though she never loved him back. Breaking that bond had been the most painful experience of his life and that wasn't Elena's fault but it was her fault that he had fallen in love with her. He had held onto some dire hope that one day she would love him back. She had helped him hold onto that hope with stolen kisses and loving stares.

He pulled back from her. He had been concerned for her life and he didn't regret looking for her. But now he had found her and she was safe the only thing he wanted to do was take her home and leave so he could be alone.

"Come on, let's go." Damon said, placing his hand on the small of her back.

Damon followed closely behind as Elena ascended the stairs and exited the basement. He watched as she made nervous glances around. She was afraid. Damon took charge and led her to the parlour where Klaus and Caroline were waiting.

"Elena!" Caroline squealed as she ran over to embrace Elena.

Once Elena was in Caroline's arm Damon quickly turned his attention to his brother who was pinned against the wall, Klaus' weight holding him there.

"Now what to do with you?" Damon questioned, staring at his brother with every ounce of hatred inside of him.

Stefan stared back with no fear, in fact he had a hint of a smirk on his face.

"You think she loves you!? Ha! Look at you. Look how pathetic you are Damon. Loving a girl who will _never_ love you back." Stefan snarled.

Damon slammed a fist into Stefan's face, Klaus moving aside to let Damon deal with his brother. Stefan crumpled to the ground. Damon was stronger than Stefan on any given day but today his adrenaline was fuelling his strength even more.

"Can't handle the truth?" Stefan laughed.

Damon kicked Stefan.

"I'm going to kill you." Damon growled.

He grabbed Stefan by his shirt and pushed him against the wall. Stefan put up no fight. Damon pressed his fist against his brother's chest and for the very first time ever Damon actually wanted to go through with his threat. All the other times he had threatened Stefan they had been empty threats. So many times he had Stefan in this exact position only to let him go because they were brothers. But Damon was done giving empty threats, this time he was going to go through with it. Stefan had crossed a line this time, endangering Elena's life.

Damon's hand forced it's way into Stefan's chest and grasped his beating heart. But as he was about to rip it from his brother's body he felt a hand on his forearm.

"Damon, don't!" Elena screamed. "Please Damon. I know what he did was awful. Trust me. But you will regret this for all of eternity."

"Get away from me." Damon warned.

"Please Damon, look at me." Elena said.

Damon turned his face to look at her. Her pleading eyes were melting his anger. After a moment Damon let go of Stefan's heart and retracted his hand from Stefan's chest. Stefan slumped to the floor in a heap.

"I can't let him go. What if he does this again, Elena?" Damon said.

The moment was so intense between them that Damon had all but forgotten Klaus and Caroline were still in the room. That was until Caroline cleared her throat and her tiny girlish voice interrupted Damon and Elena's intense stare.

"We can lock him up. Starve him until he can be trusted again. Desiccate him if we have to. As horrible as Stefan has been he is a good person inside all of that, Damon. He's your brother." Caroline told Damon.

After a few seconds of deliberation Damon agreed. "Fine."

"We can lock him up under Fell's Church. Bonnie can do a spell to keep him in there." Elena added.

Damon turned around to meet the eyes of his brother. In an instant Damon snapped his neck. "That should keep him quiet until we get back to Mystic Falls."

"You take Elena home. We'll call Bonnie and get her to meet us at Fell's Church." Caroline replied.

Damon and Elena headed back to Damon's car. The silence was awkward and Damon found no comfort in being alone in a car with Elena. She laid her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Damon stole a glance as he headed down the road back towards Mystic Falls. He loved her. He loved her so much that the only thing it had brought him was pain.

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A/N: I am sorry to those of you who were upset by my comment about not wanting to upload. It had absolutely nothing to do with criticism against this story (like I've said a billion times before, I welcome any comments negative or otherwise, despite what some of you may think), I was having a bad couple of days and hadn't much been feeling up to doing anything. Until that last update I actually hadn't had really any bad reviews, so please believe me when I say it had nothing to do with that. People have bad days and that's what it was.

I am back, I am feeling better and I want to get the rest of this story to all you loyal readers!

Just three chapters to go.

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	31. Is It Too Late?

Elena's eyes fluttered open as Damon's car pulled to a slow stop outside her house. She took in her surroundings and was very glad to be home. Jeremy would be so happy to see her. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Damon tapping his fingers on the steering wheel like he was waiting for her to get out. Elena turned and faced Damon.

"Damon I just want to thank you. I know how much I've hurt you lately and how selfish I've been and there is no excuse in the world that can make up for the things I've done and said. When Stefan kidnapped me I was so scared. I know that without you I probably would have still been locked up in Stefan's basement." Elena said, placing her hand over Damon's on the steering wheel.

He flinched under her touch and Elena definitely noticed that. She removed her hand and placed it back in her lap.

"Don't worry about it." Damon replied.

"I do worry about it Damon. I've been so horrible to you ever since you broke the sire bond. I didn't know what I wanted or who I was anymore. Everything was so confusing. I wanted to be normal and for everything just to be normal and that was why I got back together with Stefan. He was normal for me, or at least as normal as my life was before I turned. I broke up with him because I knew that I was still feeling something between us and I wanted to figure it all out. But I shouldn't have slept with you at the party, that was really cruel of me. I see that you love me and you love me _so_ much. I took advantage of that because I was jealous of your new friendship with Heather. You deserve to be happy. I'm glad that you've found someone that makes you feel like that." Elena told him.

Damon's brows furrowed. "I don't love Heather. I don't even feel anything like that towards her. We're just friends." Damon explained.

"Oh." Elena responded.

Her heart was pounding. Looking into Damon's perfect blue eyes Elena suddenly knew what she wanted. For the first time since the bond had been broken Elena knew which brother if any she wanted. _Damon_. All this time he had been the one person who didn't treat her like there was something wrong with her. He had been the only person to embrace her vampirism and not treat it like a disease. He had loved her irregardless of her love for Stefan and stood by her through everything. Damon was the one person in her life who didn't judge her or criticise her. It was so obvious to her now, that she loved Damon. She _loved_ Damon.

Elena wanted to tell him and jump into his lap and never leave. But something was stopping her. She _had_ been really awful to Damon lately and she wasn't sure if he could forgive her. She had been selfish and jealous and a bitch and Damon had never deserved any of it. For God sakes she had paraded around in her underwear trying to turn his humanity back on. She wasn't sure she could forgive herself for doing any of that to the one person in her life who had loved her unconditionally of who she was.

Just as Elena was about to open her mouth and pour her heart out Damon opened his.

"Elena, I have to tell you something." Damon sighed. "Heather has asked me to leave Mystic Falls with her. She thinks that I've got nothing left to stay for and I think she might be right. Everything I came looking for has gone. The reasons I stayed, well they no longer exist. I would never leave knowing you were in danger. But now that you're not I think it might be time for me to get the hell out of here. Caroline and Bonnie are well equipped to help you out if you ever need it and I mean, hell even Klaus would go to some lengths to keep you safe. I just think that now is the perfect time for me to start over…again. Heather is…well she's great and we're going to go travelling."

Elena swallowed her heart which was breaking at that point. Damon was leaving town and leaving her. Would she ever see him again? She wanted to blurt out all her feelings and beg him to stay for her but it seemed selfish at the time. She had put Damon through so much and asking him to ditch Heather and stay behind for _her_, well Elena was trying to be a better person than that.

"So…you're leaving then?" Elena asked.

Damon nodded. "Maybe I'll come back in a hundred years and we'll let Stefan out." Damon joked.

But his joke was lost on Elena. She smiled even though the sadness was consuming her. A life without Damon…she just couldn't imagine it.

"Maybe." Elena whispered.

Damon took her face in his hands. Elena cherished the feeling of his fingers stroking her jaw bone.

"Not maybe. I _will_ see you again. In ten years or twenty or thirty. We'll see each other again, I promise." Damon told her.

Elena nodded. Damon leant in and kissed her softly. Elena tried to capture this moment in her head. The way Damon's lips felt against her, the way his fingers held her face perfectly, the way his unique scent filled her nostrils. As sad as she was to let Damon go she knew that after everything she had done to him lately, the right thing for her to do was watch him leave. Trying to be less selfish when it concerned people she loved, that was something Elena was trying to improve on now that she knew where she had gone wrong on so many things lately.

She had, had a lot of time to reflect on herself while she was locked up in Stefan's basement and she had come to a lot of realisations. First, she had been a royal bitch to just about everyone in her life, but especially Damon. She had definitely taken advantage of the fact that he loved her. She had proved that by sleeping with him at the founder's party despite not really being sure of how she felt. She had also come to realise at just how selfish she had been lately. It was not fair of her to assume that every supernatural being in Mystic Falls would jump when she asked.

"I should go." Elena whispered as Damon broke their kiss. "Jeremy is probably wondering where I am."

Damon nodded as he released her. Elena got out of the car and walked inside without looking back. The moment she could no longer hear Damon's car in the distance Elena slumped against the door and broke down in tears. She probably deserved the heart ache she was currently feeling. She had broken two Salvatore's hearts recently and she supposed that this was karma for that. She kind of deserved it in a way, she thought. At hearing her sobs Jeremy raced downstairs and pulled her into a hug.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"He's leaving." Elena sobbed. "Damon is leaving."


	32. Damon Is Leaving

A/N: If by the end of this chapter this is your preferred ending then you can easily skip the last chapter. I wrote it purposely this way for those of you who feel different than I do about how this should end. I obviously prefer a different ending to this one and I guess by the end of this chapter you will know which way this story this going to end.

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Damon shoved a few more things into a duffle bag sitting on his bed. He looked around his immaculately kept bedroom and remembered all the other times he had come home only to leave again. All the other times he had left because he had been bored of Mystic Falls. This time was different. He was leaving because he _had_ to. Elena had taken so much from him these last couple of years and once upon a time Damon wouldn't have stayed for a week after all the drama with her. But he had changed slowly and he had become a person he never thought he could be, a decent man. He was leaving Elena and Mystic Falls behind because it was the best thing to do for himself.

After hearing Elena's apology last night Damon had wanted to kiss her and forget about all the things she had done and said but knew that if he did he would regret it. Where was his self-respect when it came to Elena? Apparently up until last night, non-existent. It had been absolutely heart wrenching to watch her walk out of the car and know that he might not see her for a very long time. Part of him wanted to run after her and never let her go ever again. But even on the remote chance that she actually did love him, it wasn't the best thing for him. He needed to get away. He needed some time away from all that was Mystic Falls.

Heather made a good companion and Damon knew that leaving with her would be a little less lonely. He wasn't sure if he'd have the strength to leave alone.

He threw another black shirt into the bag and turned to meet Heather.

"Are you ready?" Heather asked, cocking a perfectly shaped eyebrow at Damon.

Damon didn't want to love someone for a very long time, maybe even ever if it meant feeling all the things he had felt for Elena. But Heather might be the exception one day. He could grow to love her, he thought to himself. She was the perfect match for him in all ways. Flirty, fun, daring…they made quite the pair and if Damon hadn't have just been through the most gruelling two years of his life where his heart was considered he probably would have been more than infatuated with his pretty blonde friend.

Heather did not pressure him for more than friendship. He was thankful she wasn't some needy woman hounding him for answers to questions he didn't care to answer. She was carefree and everything Damon needed right now.

"Yep. Think I have everything." Damon replied, swinging the bag over his shoulder.

The pair descended downstairs into the parlour. Damon took another look around, nothing had changed in the boarding house in many, many years. But now that there was no one around to care for it he began feeling like he couldn't leave the boarding house behind. Who would take care of his home? What if one day he wanted to return only to find it in ruins because no one was here to maintain it? Damon felt intense anxiety at the thought.

"I can't leave." Damon announced, dropping his bag to the floor.

"What? Why?" Heather asked.

"With Stefan desiccating in a tomb there's no one here to maintain the boarding house." Damon told her.

Heather gave Damon a questioning look. Even though they hadn't known each other long she had been able to read him from the very moment they met. She knew that the boarding house wasn't the sole reason for Damon's hesitance. Heather knew it was Elena. No matter how many times they had this conversation, it never seemed to get through. Heather knew girls like Elena. Girls who thrived on being loved. If Elena had truly ever cared about Damon she would have left him alone or set him straight the moment Damon revealed how he felt.

"Seriously Damon? That's complete crap." Heather said, rolling her eyes. "This has everything to do with Elena. You need to leave this town."

Damon took a deep breath in. Heather was right. This was crazy. Damon had come to terms with the fact that he might always love Elena but that didn't mean he needed to stay in Mystic Falls and have his heart broken over and over again. What if Elena moved on? What was he going to do? Cry himself to sleep over the fact that she loves yet another man more than him? No. He was going to leave and he was going to do it now.

Damon picked up his bag and swung it back over his shoulder. He walked into the nearby library and shuffled threw a few draws. Eventually finding what he needed Damon pulled out the object, a spare piece of paper and an envelope.

_Elena,_

_In my absence the boarding house will need someone to care for it. The deed to the house is in this envelope. Ten, twenty, thirty years from now._

_Damon._

Heather snatched the note from his hands and immediately upon reading it she gave a heavy sigh. Did he never learn? Heather was a few hundred years old than Damon and in her many, many years on this Earth she had known few men that were like Damon. He liked to pretend he was a bad boy who always did the wrong thing but Heather didn't see him like that. Damon had shown her nothing of the sort in the short time she had known him. Okay, so he was a perfect gentleman, he didn't carry her bags and whisper sweet nothings but Heather liked that about him! Men that were too sweet and too kind made her gag. Damon was the perfect medium. A little sweet with a dash of danger and a sprinkle of arrogance.

Some where along the way however Heather assumed he had lost himself. Maybe because of Elena. The way Damon spoke about Elena anyone would have come to the assumption that she was a mythical like creature. When they first met Damon had rattled on in a drunken state about how beautiful and amazing and perfect Elena was. But when he started to get down into the dirty details Heather could not find herself even remotely tolerating Elena. Then she met her and then the founder's party happened and now Heather couldn't stand her. But most of all she couldn't stand what she had done to Damon.

In the short time the two had known each other Heather had grown rather attached to Damon. She didn't love him and she sure hoped it would never come to that. But she felt they had a connection and that maybe she could help Damon get over Elena.

"Really? You know this sounds like a love note right?" Heather scoffed.

"Well…I need someone to take care of the boarding house." Damon shrugged.

"There is _no one_ else in this dead end town that could do that for you?" Heather questioned.

Damon almost laughed at the idea. He pretty much hated everyone in this town aside from Elena. Bonnie was judgemental, Matt was a bore and Caroline was too up beat for his liking. The only person Damon could even bring himself to say he could tolerate was Klaus and _that_ was on a good day. For the most part everyone in this town hated him too. Then Damon remembered Liz Forbes and what their friendship used to be like before she found out he was a vampire. Even afterwards they still got along.

"I guess there might be one other person." Damon said, rolling his eyes.

He discarded the note to Elena and scribbled down another for Liz.

_Liz,_

_Left town for awhile. Take care of my house and don't let the high school kids throw parties in it!_

_Damon._

Damon slid the letter into the envelope and sealed it with the deed inside.

As they stepped outside Damon almost felt sad leaving his home and the town he had grown up in. For it was probably the first time ever Damon felt like he may not return. One day he would probably scold himself on how pathetic he had been where Elena was considered and he would shudder at the idea of ever returning home on the off chance he might run into her.

Heather and Damon got into his camaro and drove into town. It was a quiet ride as Heather was sensing Damon was feeling kind of nostalgic. They pulled up to the Mystic Grill and Damon asked Heather to wait in the car. He proceeded to go inside the Grill and scanned the room for the person he was looking for. After spotting her he made his way over.

"Blondie." Damon greeted.

"What do you want?" Caroline asked.

Despite the fact that Damon had saved Elena, Caroline still couldn't fathom the idea of being nice to Damon.

"I'm leaving town today." Damon announced.

"And you're telling me why?" Caroline snorted.

"I need you to give this to your mom." Damon told her.

"What is it? The list of all your victims so she can stop searching for all those _missing_ people." Caroline smirked.

Damon sighed at the blonde's antics. "It's the deed to my house."

Caroline's mouth fell open. "Why are you giving my mom the deed to your house?"

"I told you, I'm leaving town." Damon reminded her.

"Yeah, you'll come back." Caroline shrugged.

"Not sure I will. Or if I do probably not for a long time. I need someone to maintain the boarding house in my absence. Can you make sure she gets that?" Damon said.

Damon placed the letter on the table in front of Caroline, turned and started to walk away. Caroline raced over to him and grabbed his arm.

"What about Elena?" Caroline asked.

"What about her?" Damon replied.

"You love her don't you?" Caroline questioned.

"I thought you were on _team Stefan_?" Damon smirked.

"I'm on team Elena. I just want her to be happy Damon. You're not my first choice for her but if she is happy being with you then I'm happy for her." Caroline told him.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Elena and I…we're done. I'm leaving town and I'm not sure if I'll ever come back." Damon sighed.

"You're not even going to say goodbye to her?" Caroline retorted as Damon began to walk away.

Damon turned his face to look at Caroline. "I already did."

Damon dismissed the blonde's look of sadness as he left the Grill.

Stepping outside the Mystic Grill Damon almost ran into Jeremy Gilbert.

"Hey, watch it." Damon snarled before realising it was Jeremy.

"Damon, hi." Jeremy said.

There was an awkward silence between them that Damon couldn't place. As far as he was concerned they were on good terms. Jeremy Gilbert was annoying and Elena's unconditional love for her hunter brother had almost gotten her killed, but lately Damon hadn't found himself hating Jeremy so much. He was just a kid. A kid that Damon hoped could take care of Elena now that he was leaving town.

"Well as pleasant as this was," Damon said, rolling his eyes, "I have to go."

Damon took a step towards his car. Jeremy's hand shot out and gripped Damon's shoulder.

"Damon, wait." Jeremy said.

"What is it Gilbert?" Damon sighed.

"I know you're leaving town. Elena told me." Jeremy answered.

"And you were afraid you'd miss out on a heartfelt goodbye?" Damon asked.

Jeremy's face scrunched up at Damon's inappropriate joke.

"Elena loves you, you know that right? I hate that it's you because, well frankly you're a douche. But she loves you and I love my sister." Jeremy told Damon.

"You're telling me this why, Jeremy?" Damon asked.

"Because last night she came home and she couldn't stop crying because you're leaving town. She said she finally knows what she wants and it's you but you're leaving and she's trying to be a better person and let you go." Jeremy revealed.

"Why would she want to let me go?" Damon asked.

Damon's heart was steadily starting to race. The words he had longed to hear from Elena for so long were spouting out of her brother's mouth.

"Elena knows how horrible she's been Damon, selfish, manipulative. She knows all of that. She wants to tell you how much she loves you but she thinks if she does you'll stay behind for her and she doesn't want to be selfish anymore. Elena said she just wants you to be happy." Jeremy answered.

Damon threw a look over his shoulder to Heather who was still waiting in his car. By the look on her face Damon could only assume she had heard everything Jeremy was saying.

"I'm…leaving town." Damon sighed.

He took Jeremy's hand in his and shook it. Just like last night when he watched Elena walk back to her house, his heart felt like it was breaking. The one confession he had wanted all along he had just gotten. Albeit it wasn't from Elena herself, but from Jeremy, it was almost as good. Elena loved him. She wanted _him_. Damon turned and walked away from Jeremy and back to his car. He slid into the drivers seat without a word. Heather placed her hand on Damon's shoulder as if she was comforting him for a sadness he wasn't ready to share.

Damon started the car and drove off to start a new life.

* * *

A/N: I guess you could call that the last chapter if that's how you wanted this to end. I at first was not sure how I wanted my story to end and eventually decided but knew that a lot of you felt different. So I composed a way where I could kind of get two endings without writing two completely different endings if you get what I mean. This chapter definitely ties in with the next, so you can of course keep reading into the next chapter even if this is your preferred ending.

Review, follow and favourite.


	33. This Is The End

Damon focused on the road ahead, trying his hardest not to remember that the turn for Elena's street was coming up. As it got closer he found himself waging a war inside of him. _Let her go_. He was fighting so hard to keep his mind focused on leaving Mystic Falls behind. But as he approached the turn Damon took a dramatic, dangerous swerve into the street.

"What the hell are you doing?" Heather growled, angry about his erratic driving.

"I can't leave. I can't do it." Damon replied.

"Damon, again? We're in the car, we're on the road. Just keep driving." Heather said.

Damon pulled to a stop outside of Elena's house. He pulled the keys from the ignition and shoved them deep into his pants pockets.

"I'm sorry Heather but I love her." Damon told her.

He got out of the car and headed towards the house. Heather opened her own door and shouted after Damon.

"For the record I think you're making a _huge_ mistake." She yelled while rolling her eyes. "I guess I'll see you 'round." Heather said, with every intention of catching a taxi out of Mystic Falls.

Damon trudged up the porch stairs, his heart beating so fast he was just about sure it was going to beat out of his chest. Damon was so nervous, he suddenly wasn't sure whether he was doing the right thing. After everything Elena had put him through, here he was standing on her porch ready to embrace her whole heartedly. He knew he should probably be angry at himself right now, disappointed even but the only thing he felt was _happy_.

His hand rapped three times on the door as he waited impatiently for Elena to open the door. The door slowly creaked and Elena's body appeared in the frame. Damon couldn't help but smile at her appearance. Hair in a messy bun, no make up, sweat pants and an oversized shirt. Her eyes were puffy and red and she looked like she had been crying. Even though she looked less than her best Damon only thought she was beautiful. Everything about Elena was so relaxed and simple.

"Damon…what are you doing here?" Elena greeted, the surprise in her voice shining through.

Damon barged his way through without an invitation and made his way to the kitchen. There was an empty tub of cookie dough ice-cream on the counter and an empty blood bag. Damon smirked. Elena followed him into the kitchen.

"I thought you were leaving town." Elena said quietly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I was." Damon admitted. "I went to the Grill to drop off something for Liz Forbes and I was heading to my car when I ran into your brother."

Elena's eyes went wide. "Whatever he told you…he's lying."

Damon smirked and took a few steps towards her until he was towering over her. "So you weren't crying all night because I was leaving?"

Elena shook her head.

Another time this might have made Damon think Elena did not love him, but after Jeremy's confession Damon was 100 percent sure Elena did. He was taking no for an answer.

"So you don't love me, then?" Damon whispered.

He brushed his hand over her soft tear stained cheeks. Her doe eyes stared up at him like little puppy dog eyes.

"I'm here, Elena. I'm not going anywhere because _I love you_. And I know you love me too." Damon said huskily.

Elena's breath hitched as Damon leant down and captured her lips in his mouth. She responded quickly, reciprocating Damon's actions. Damon wound his hands around her waist while Elena wrapped her arms around his neck. Damon walked backwards with Elena, never breaking their kiss. When his back hit the kitchen counter Damon spun them around at vampire speed and then lifted Elena and placed her on top of the counter. Their kiss started to intensify and with this Elena's hands started to grasp fistfuls of Damon's dark locks.

Damon broke their kiss soon after and tilted her head backwards until the length of her neck was exposed. He ran his tongue along it, nipping at the skin every few inches. Elena's mouth hung agape as she relished Damon's lips on her burning skin. She was a vampire but she felt like she was on fire. Elena gripped the hem of Damon's black shirt and urged Damon to lift his arms so she could pull it over his head. Damon obliged and Elena quickly discarded the fabric. She traced his abs with her fingers as Damon continued to explore her neck.

Growing impatient, Damon scraped his teeth along her clavicle, eliciting a deep groan from Elena. He grabbed the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head, revealing Elena's torso clad in a blue lacy bra. He felt his dick twitch at the sight of her breasts heaving in the confines. Elena bit her lip and pulled the hair tie from her hair, her luscious, long brown locks cascading over her shoulders. Elena looked every bit as sexy as Damon knew she was.

Feeling his hard cock pressing against his jeans Damon rubbed his hand against his crotch. Elena ran her hand along the waist band of his jeans before unclasping the button and watching on as Damon slid them down this thighs and let them drop to the floor. Things had never been this slow between them. In the few times they had, had sex everything had been rushed and feverish. It was sexy and passionate but this was something different on a whole new level.

Damon had never had time to truly take in her beautiful naked body before as they were always racing to get it all off and have sex. Of course he knew what she looked like naked but getting to slowly take off her clothes piece by piece and admire every part of her was new for him.

Damon started to slide Elena's sweat pants down her hips. Elena lifted her ass off the counter to allow Damon to pull them down more. He painfully slowly pulled them down her thighs, exposing her olive toned, smooth flesh inch by inch. When his fingers brushed against her skin Elena found herself feeling like she had never done this before. Every touch felt like fire trailing her skin. Damon pushed the last of her sweat pants off her legs, dropping the pants to the floor to be discarded along with her shirt and Damon's clothes. Both of them were now only in their underwear.

Damon pushed apart her legs slightly, giving him a perfect view of between them. Even though she still had underwear on Damon was salivating at the sight. If Elena was embarrassed by Damon's gawking she wasn't showing it. She ran a hand through her mess of hair and swept it to one side, letting her hair flow over one shoulder.

She gasped as Damon grabbed her roughly by the waist and pulled her to the edge of the counter, Damon standing between her legs.

"Tell me." Damon whispered, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder.

"Tell you what?" Elena replied, her lids heavy.

"Tell me you love me." Damon answered.

"I love you, Damon." Elena said.

At that moment Damon unclasped Elena's bra, watching it come loose and her breasts spill out. It wasn't long before her bra joined the other items on the floor. Damon palmed one beneath his hand, enjoying the way her breast felt. He tweaked a nipple between his thumb and forefinger, watching Elena's face as it contorted into a show of pleasure. Her hips started to grind against Damon's, desperate for any friction to soothe the hot ache between her thighs.

Damon slid a hand into his boxers and stroked his erection. His motions felt good but he knew that Elena's hand would feel better so he pulled his boxers off and guided Elena's hand to wrap around his dick. He growled as her tiny, cold hand encompassed his cock. Her movements began slow and methodical but as the minutes passed she began to move her hand faster and swiping her finger over the tip of his head where he was most sensitive.

While Elena jerked him off Damon found her panties and pulled them down her legs. The sight before him amazed him. Her wet pussy glistened with her juices, indicating that she was enjoying their intimacy just as much as he was. He ran a finger down her slit, wetting the tip with the juices that had pooled had her entrance. Elena moaned as he did this. Damon slid a finger inside of her, starting with the tip and adding more of his finger as he went on. Elena's strokes on his dick were becoming erratic indicating to Damon that she was losing concentration due to his ministrations on her.

He smirked as she let go of his dick to grab the edge of the counter with both her hands. Her legs widened and Damon got a better view of his finger working her. He added another inside of her, her warm, wet walls clenching him as his fingers got closer to her g-spot.

_"Please_." She gasped.

Damon suddenly pulled his fingers from her only to quickly replace them with his dick. He entered her quickly but only with the tip of his cock, waiting for her walls to adjust to him. But Elena was impatient and began working her own body on his dick. Damon clutched her waist with his hands as he thrusted further inside her. His eyes closed as he swore this was the best feeling in the world. Elena's head lulled backwards as the pleasure started to override her body.

"Yes. Yes! Damon. God, yes." She moaned.

Elena's cries spurred Damon's movements which started to become less methodical and more impatient. Every thrust was harder than the last, urging himself to go deeper inside her. Elena's walls were clenching him fiercely, Damon was sure she couldn't possibly get any tighter.

"Fuck. Fuck. Elena." Damon growled.

He placed a finger firmly on her clit and began working it in circles to fuel her orgasm. Elena's body spasmed in reaction, eliciting a loud guttural pleasure filled scream from her mouth. Damon fucked her at a relentless pace, slamming into her and rubbing her clit with intensity. Elena swung her head over Damon's shoulder and bit down onto it, blood started to pour into her mouth. Damon's blood. Damon wasn't sure if she knew what was happening but all of a sudden he was hit with the _most_ intense orgasm he had ever experience. Waves and waves of pleasure screamed through his body. Damon couldn't even cry out in pleasure it was so good. He bit into Elena's neck and drank from her as he came, his orgasm rocketing through his body.

He was sorry to cum before Elena but it didn't seem to bother her as moments later her own orgasm landed and she retracted her teeth to scream out his name. Before he was sure she couldn't get tighter but as she came her walls became so tight Damon almost couldn't take it. He felt her body convulse with fury as she started to descend from her earth shattering orgasm.

It was moments later when Damon pulled out of her, his cock covered in both their cum.

"I need to sit down." Damon said, pulling a chair from the nearby table.

Elena smirked as Damon sat down, seemingly exhausted. His cock stood semi-hard, glistening with the product of good sex.

"So…" Elena smiled.

"I fucking love you." Damon smirked.

"I _fucking_ love you too." Elena replied.

* * *

A/N: And there is the end. Sad. I really loved this story at the beginning but I just think that as I continued to write it I got further and further away from where I wanted it to be. I myself, feel as though this probably isn't my best work but in saying that I have received so many nice reviews telling me how great it is. Without those words of encouragement I think I might have given up half way through. I at least hope that the ending proved somewhat satisfactory. In actual fact I think I might have written this a little differently then it is written now, but oh well.

This has been an eventful ride. I have received so many reviews on this story (constructive and otherwise) and appreciate all of the support, words of encouragement and yes, even your criticism. Any time I received a review, I took those words and tried to better myself with them. I have received reviews from people telling me how I shouldn't post a story if I can't take criticism. I think that it had nothing to do with me not being able to take criticism. Personally, I think that the reviews I addressed in A/N's were sometimes rude and not needed. But it doesn't matter now. We're at the end. Thank you everyone who read this and continued to read this even when at times my story veered off the road and into a place it probably didn't need to go. Elena ended up being a character I couldn't even like even though I had written her. Damon ended up being a little softer than I would have liked at times (although I believe he is a complete softy when it comes to Elena) and Stefan, well he went nuts.

I have begun to write a sequel to this (slowly but surely) and I think this time whether it takes me a day, three days or three weeks to update I'll take my time and you're opinions into consideration. I have said it before but I'll say it again, I have a habit of writing for a few days and knocking back three or four chapters and then not feeling like it for a week or two and thus if I don't write ahead you won't get an update for awhile. I think this time I'm taking a different approach and we'll see how that turns out.

If you're interested in reading the sequel (probably post it in a week or two) please follow or favourite me so you can receive a update when it's been posted. I'm not going to give to much away but it takes place sometime after the end of this story and follows Elena and Damon when they return to Mystic Falls together.

Once again, thank you so much for reading this.

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